


On The Shoulder Of A Giant

by Emamel



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 104th kids, Canon-Typical Violence, Eren is a titan, Feral Eren, Gen, Kink Meme, Minor Character Death, Special Ops Squad, a whole host of minor characters, and always was, rogue titan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2014-03-24
Packaged: 2018-01-16 21:40:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 34,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1362658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emamel/pseuds/Emamel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Scouting Legion receives word of a rogue titan in the battle of Trost.</p><p>They didn't know what to expect - it certainly wasn't Jaeger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue - Jaeger

**Author's Note:**

> Another de-anon from the meme! Woohoo!

Blood, blood, there’s blood on his hands, in his eyes, under his feet, but that’s not important, running is important, he has to be fast, has to get there first, or –

He loses the race, and there is more blood now, on his mouth and frozen in his veins, too late, too late. A screaming face disappears, a beloved face, and the blood on the ground seems to have hardened now until it is like crystal beneath his feet, can’t move, can’t run, can’t get away.

There is more screaming, behind him, in front of him, a cacophony of screams. His head turns, slowly, so slowly, and his eyes widen as he sees the face grinning before him, but he is motionless, he is powerless in his anger, he couldn’t save her and now he can’t save himself. Limp in the grip of a titan – smaller than him, but it hardly matters when he can’t even bring himself to fight back – his head rolls, and he catches a slash of burgundy against a warm throat, dark grey eyes that hold his for a moment even as they are carried away. He remembers a slash of red against a different throat, bright crimson and quickly spreading, remembers a knife held in small, steady hands.

Remembers the screams of the men that fell before him in the forest, that snapped like twigs in his hands, that begged for mercy and thought they could outrun him. Remembers the girl, shivering and pale with a third man at her feet. Remembers unwrapping the dark red from his wrist and leaving it on her head. Humans got cold, he knew that, and so he left her with something to keep her warm.

_He left before the arrival of Dr. Jaeger, and so doesn’t remember the way the man’s face had drained of all colour, doesn’t remember him making the girl swear that she would never tell another living soul what she had seen, doesn’t remember him hiding the bodies._

There is a blond head as well, and blue eyes that stretch on like the sky in summer, and he remembers a defiant voice that sounded so out of place (not a local, not a voice he had heard before when hiding amongst the trees). He remembers the boy, bruised and bloody, sitting in the shade of a tree and not moving even when he’d emerged from his place in the shadows. The blank look in those eyes had confused him, and so he sat beside the boy on a summer afternoon and watched when the boy returned to his town in the distance.

But those are memories and this is now, and he tips back his head to shriek his fury at this titan that thinks he is its prey, at the titan that killed the woman ( _Carla, my name is Carla, do you understand? I’m sorry about the way I acted before; I’ve never met a titan other than you.  I’m Dr. Jaeger’s wife. He’s told me about you – here, I made this for you, it’s a gift)_ at the destruction of his wall, the lovely wall that kept all of the titans away.

He draws back his fist and swings.


	2. Chapter 1 - Levi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trial and a whole host of not-lies. These newbies will be the death of him.

Levi can feel his lip curling in something like disgust as he rereads the (mostly terrible quality) reports left on what is currently functioning as his desk for what feels like the hundredth time. Over the years he has seen any number of improbable things – even things once thought impossible, and he has learnt from his past mistakes. Now, he knows better than to simply take things at face value, and he finds that as a result he is rarely surprised.

That is not to say that it does not happen, of course. He is surprised now – very surprised indeed.

Hanji is almost shaking in her excitement, but she bites her lip and waits for him to speak, eyes shining behind her glasses. By now, Levi knows her well enough to know that it isn’t the victory in Trost that she is so excited about, but rather the unexpected saviour that made it possible, and what that may suggest for her research. He can still remember when the first reports began to trickle in about the abnormal spotted lurking in the giant forests within Wall Maria, witnesses that claimed the titan had been sighted attacking other titans. The look on Hanji’s face then really wasn’t so different to her expression now, though she appears to be even more hopeful than before.

It had been Commander Erwin that had denied her when she asked permission to capture the titan in question. It wasn’t the abnormals that they desperately needed to study, he had reasoned, but the majority of the titans that they still knew so very little about. These new reports, however, could well change that.

Though with the intelligence provided – shaky and unreliable at best – and the sticky fingers of the Military Police everywhere, there is no guarantee that Hanji will have her wish granted anytime soon. Levi pinches the bridge of his nose in an effort to stave off the lingering headache that has been building since the reports had started flooding in. This isn’t what he had signed up for.

“This is the first time we’ve had so much as a hint that there might be titans willing and able to work with humans,” Hanji finally bursts out. It seems that her excitement over this new development is enough to overcome her usual respectful (if unorthodox) manner. “The implications alone are staggering, never mind the opportunity for experiments, and the Military Police would have Jaeger put down like a sick dog with no questions asked. Captain, surely you understand why –”

“Jaeger?” Levi asks drily, one eyebrow inching up his forehead. Hanji doesn’t even have the grace to pause or flush at her slip; she only grins like a gleeful child.

“After Dr. Jaeger – I’ve read all of his research papers and theories, and he was the first one to suggest the possibility of abnormal-type titans that display little or no aggression towards humans,” she explains brightly. “Besides, I understand that in one of the pre-wall languages common in this area, ‘Jaeger’ meant ‘hunter’, so what name could be better for a titan that only attacks other titans?”

Despite himself, Levi can feel the beginnings of a smirk at the corners of his mouth. “You’ve put an awful lot of thought into this, haven’t you?”

“I had the name picked out and ready when we first heard the rumours four years ago,” she admits, not a hint of embarrassment in her countenance. “It’s only just started catching on amongst the men.” It takes far more effort than it should to keep from rolling his eyes.

Levi heaves a sigh, carefully neatening the stack of papers on the piece of shoddy workmanship he was ashamed to currently call his desk. “Hanji, as much as I regret to say this, the decision of whether or not Jaeger is to be placed in our custody as a test subject or anything else for that matter isn’t up to me. The matter is to be taken to court in the near future, to be settled by Dallis Zacklay. His decision, whatever that ends up being, is final.” He holds up a hand when Hanji opens her mouth to interrupt, waiting until she subsides before allowing himself to smile a little. “It’s fortunate for you that Commander Erwin has ordered that I attend the hearing, both to hear the eyewitness accounts and to aid in arguing our case.”

Hanji looks about ready to faint on the spot.

“Of course, I thought I ought to tell you before we went ahead and argued for the sparing of the titan’s life,” he continues easily. “If you don’t think it’ll be useful –”

“ _Yes_! Of course it’ll be useful, you have no idea how much we could learn from this!” She babbles in her excitement. “Of course we have to claim custody of Jaeger, we’re the only ones that could reasonably achieve such a thing – in fact, we’re the only ones that’ll be able to find him since he closed the hole in the wall at Trost.”

“Precisely,” Levi agrees, standing and carefully tucking his chair beneath the desk. “I’m glad you agree, Squad Captain.”

“Huh? Levi, where are you-?”

“To the courtroom,” he replies, as though it should be obvious, savouring the look on Hanji’s face for a split second. “Did I not mention? The hearing starts in twenty minutes.”

 *****

Of course, nothing goes as smoothly as he had hoped (though truthfully he had planned for a lot worse).

Levi stands silent and watchful, Erwin’s fingers on his wrist a gentle admonishment; telling him to remember his place and hold his tongue for now. He watches the two trainees – recently graduated, but not yet assigned their places within the military – wait in silence also at the other end of the courtroom. Notes the near-unnatural stillness of the girl (Mikasa Ackerman, fifteen years old, originally from a small cabin within Wall Maria, though she moved to the Shinganshina district with Dr. Jaeger after the murder of her parents. Suffers from apparent amnesia, with no memory of what happened to her kidnappers) and the wary look in her dark grey eyes. One hand has strayed to the red scarf tucked around her throat.

The boy (Armin Arlert, also fifteen, grew up in Shinganshina with his parents and maternal grandparents, though took frequent trips inside Wall Maria with Dr. Jaeger while studying the man’s craft) on the other hand, seems the very picture of nervous tension. He is sweating and fidgeting, though every so often he will glance across to his companion, and for a few moments attempt to emulate her calm demeanour before he eventually returns to twitching like a small rodent. Levi remembers from the reports the way the boy had supposedly stood before an entire squadron with their swords and cannon trained on him and shouted his loyalty to the military, to humanity, and to his cause. Somehow, Levi can believe it.

Arlert is called forward first, and he gulps a deep lungful of air before recounting his tale. It is almost exactly as Levi remembers from the written report – well detailed and carefully explained with particular reference to the titan’s part in the somewhat shaky strategy he had come up with to safely deliver his fellows to the HQ in the centre of the town. Of course he had felt obligated to persuade them to distract the enemy when he had seen that the titan was carrying the boulder towards the hole in the wall. Yet it comes out sounding as though the boy has simply memorised a script, and Levi can feel his brow furrowing as he watches various members of the gallery opposite begin to shake their heads. They don’t believe him, clearly.

Personally, Levi would like to know what other explanation they could come up with for the events at Trost, particularly when none of them were present at the time, and so have no idea what is or is not within the realms of possibility.

As Arlert finishes his description of the events, voice trailing away, salute still strong and near-perfect, Levi can see the members of the Wallist religion turn to each other and begin muttering furiously. He clenches his jaw and waits, focusing on the feel of Erwin’s fingers at his wrist. It wouldn’t do to rant and rave now, and possibly ruin their chances of success.

Ackerman is called forward shortly after, and her explanation is precisely what Levi had been expecting – short, swift and to the point. She gives no additional detail unless prompted, speaks quietly and with a gentle confidence that she will be listened to and her opinion _will_ be taken into account, and all the while her salute remains steady and completely natural. If it weren’t for the way her fingers keep twitching towards that scarf of hers, Levi might even believe that she was telling the whole truth.

Not that he thinks she is lying. Even a trainee must know better than to do such a thing in the military court – she is, however, omitting certain details, and keeping things to herself. The boy, Arlert, had done the same.

Levi can feel his headache growing by the second.

Of course, it is only once all of the eyewitness accounts have been given (apart from Ackerman and Arlert, there are only a few that had seen the titan in person, though a great many more soldiers claim that they witnessed it climbing back over the Wall once the hole had been sealed) that the discussion turns towards what is to be done with the titan.

As expected, the Military Police want it executed like any other titan, and it seems that the majority is in agreement. Erwin speaks his piece, keeping it short and succinct, though it seems to go mostly unheard. A muscle in his jaw jumps, but apart from that, the Commander is unflappable as ever. His fingers return to Levi’s wrist as they stand back to watch the room dissolve into chaos. The Wallists, it would seem, are infuriated by the titan’s lack of respect for the Wall around Trost – they claim that in scaling the Wall, the titan has committed an offence that can only be punishable by death. It is with great effort that Levi refrains from pointing out precisely how many members of the military scale the Walls on a daily basis. It is probably best that he does not remind them.

The high-end tradesmen, on the other hand (and Levi cannot fathom why they are present in a _military courtroom_ ) are more concerned with how this might affect their businesses and livelihoods – as though each of them hasn’t already accumulated a small fortune. It’s enough to make him feel sick, but the final straw comes when one of the fools calls out asking what will happen if the titan turns, and chooses to begin attacking humans, like every other one of his kind. Levi can see Arlert and Ackerman tense even from across the courtroom, but that hardly matters.

The fingers at his wrist vanish, and he allows himself a momentary smile.

He vaults the railing that had previously held him back and strides to the centre of the room, drawing all eyes and attention as he does so. Levi knows that he doesn’t always make the most intimidating picture, but every single person present knows who he is and they all believe that they know what he is capable of.

Let them keep believing that. Surpassing expectations is always fun.

“And if this titan _does_ choose to change sides, what then?” He asks the room as a whole, shoulders thrown back and arms spread imploringly. “It’s already been shown that this titan has a greater than average intelligence – the ability to reason, and to solve problems; something that we had, until now, thought beyond them. Should this titan prove dangerous to all of mankind, then do you really think you or anyone else here would be able to stop it?” Now he turns, addressing the idiotic tradesman, who by now has turned almost puce with embarrassment and anger.

“O-of course, humanity’s strongest soldier would be able to bring down such a beast,” the man all but simpers, his face contorted by his insincerity. Levi’s mouth thins.

“Of course I would. And yet, I hear suggestions that we leave this beast to roam free without any form of monitoring, or indeed that we leave it in the _capable_ –” the sneer is apparent in his voice “ – hands of the Military Police. That is to say, men with no idea of how best to capture or contain a titan, men who, in many cases, have never even _seen_ a titan. Yet you would entrust the safety of all of those within the Inner Walls – indeed, the safety of all of humanity – to these men.

“Whether or not this titan turns out to be a threat,” he says, his tone implying precisely what he thinks of _that_ , “It should not be left to incompetent fools with no true experience to be dealt with. Allow the Scouting Legion to not only capture but also detain this titan far from humanity. Allow us to surround with some of humanity’s greatest soldiers, men and women with years of experience in dealing with titans both on and off the field, both inside and outside of the Walls.

“Sleep easier knowing that should the titan ever turn against humanity, it will be guarded by soldiers that are in a position to – how did you describe it? Exterminate the threat.”

He isn’t done, of course – not even close. There has yet been no opportunity to mention the possibility of using the titan for experimentation purposes, but he knows better than to simply bring up the subject without any indication that it may help the case.

“Ackerman,” he calls, turning to face the girl. She gazes back at him, her eyes steady and blank.

“Sir?”

“Did the titan show any interest in the humans at the battle for Trost?” He asks, his tone brooking no argument. He can see her turning the question over in her head, and can see the moment she decides to tell him the not-quite truth.

“It seemed aware of the presence of humans, but largely uninterested in them,” she says, tone flat and seemingly uninterested. “It would react briefly to loud sounds and quick movement, but its main goal appeared to be the eradication of nearby titans. It unintentionally saved the lives of many humans by drawing the focus of a great number of titans and destroying them whilst the humans escaped.” Levi nods – as he had expected.

“And Arlert, when incorporating the titan into your plan, did it at any point seem to be aware that it was being manipulated?”

The boy straightens and answers immediately. “No, sir! The titan’s movements and patterns of behaviour were relatively easy to predict, and so I could involve it in the plan, but its lack of deviation from the plan was caused more likely by its limited intellect than by any understanding of the plan, sir!”

Levi nods again, and turns to face Zacklay.

“As you can no doubt tell, its predictable behaviours would make it an easy target for the Scouting Legion to capture – we’ve had to handle abnormals before, and it’s unlikely that this would be the most difficult capture we’ve attempted, sir.” Zacklay looks thoughtful, and Erwin takes this as his cue to speak up again at last.

“We ask only for a chance to learn what we can from this titan. There is a possibility that our fundamental understanding of the titans is flawed – however we wish to look at it, there is no denying that this is a unique opportunity to not only learn more about titans and abnormals as a whole, but also to move one step closer to the defeat of the titans, and the reclaiming of humanity.” The courtroom is deathly silent. Levi watches Erwin closely, though he is sure he knows what will be coming next.

“Whether we are able to use this titan as a weapon for humanity or whether we are able only to study it and nothing more, I believe that with the use of this titan we will be able to push the titans back and reclaim Wall Maria.”

If Levi had been expecting an outcry, he would have been sorely disappointed. The room is silent enough that he is sure that everyone present is holding their breath.

Zacklay sighs.

“You truly think that the Scouting Legion is capable of such an incredible feat?” He asks slowly, watching Erwin over the rim of his glasses. Levi holds back a smirk – they’ve already won, he can feel it. He steps forwards before Erwin has a chance to respond.

“If you’ll permit it, I believe we can do that and more – with some assistance.”

“Assistance?” Zacklay repeats. Levi allows himself a second or two; he can feel the mounting tension that sweeps the room and takes a second to enjoy it before spinning and pointing at Ackerman and Arlert, both of whom have frozen where they stand, for once reacting in an identical manner.

“As the two humans with the greatest exposure to and contact with the titan in question, I request the aid of Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert in tracking and capturing it,” he explains. They know something, of that he is sure, and he can’t risk that information going unsaid, or worse, falling into the wrong hands. Zacklay looks them over and nods slowly.

“If they are willing to aid you, then I will grant the Scouting Legion custody over the abnormal titan,” he agrees. Arlert nods frantically; Ackerman meets his eyes for a few seconds before giving her assent.

Zacklay heaves himself up out of his chair. “Then it is decided. Court dismissed.” He leaves without another word – Levi turns to Erwin, who only shakes his head despairingly with a small smile on his face. Ackerman and Arlert whisper furiously to one another in the background, but Levi pays them no mind, his thoughts focused on something far more important.

How would it be best to break the news to Hanji whilst avoiding gratitude in the form of physical contact?


	3. Chapter 2 - Zoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan and a mission. Zoe's never been happier.

Though he didn’t know it, Captain Levi needn’t have worried about how to break the news to Zoe – she had spent the entirety of the case stood waiting outside the doors, shifting from foot to foot. Mike kept glancing at her from the corner of his eye, waiting for her to either calm down or finally burst with excitement. He didn’t have to wait too long.

The doors slam open to reveal several leading members of the Wallist religion – Zoe wonders for a moment who precisely had thought up that name, because really? – storming out with identical thunderous expressions marring their faces.

Zoe can barely contain herself.

Really, she supposes she ought to wait for the Commander and Captain to leave the courtroom; she ought to ask for a detailed description of the vent, and she ought to wait for some form of debrief before retiring to her temporary quarters to plan. So, naturally, she does none of these things. Instead, she turns to Mike with a smile so wide that he shrinks away from her, glancing around nervously for the source of her joy.

“Tell Levi and Erwin I’m sorry,” she tells him, already turning to head down the corridor as more disgruntled faces flood out of the courtroom. “I’ve got to start planning!”

Her footsteps echo through the stone corridors as she all but races through the veritable labyrinth towards her current accommodation. Already her mind is dashing on ahead, making plans and then revising them, devising strategy after strategy after strategy, though in truth with the limited information available on Jaeger, just about any plan she comes up with has an equal chance of success. Not that that matters right now – right now, there’s still the logistics of containing an abnormal-type, fifteen-metre class titan in a way that will pose the least threat to Jaeger, the soldiers charged with guarding him, and any civilians that may or may not be nearby.

It is no secret that the Scouting Legion have any number of isolated bases throughout the interior of Wall Rose, but it is not uncommon for travelling groups of families or workers to stumble across them – something that could prove dangerous to both the humans involved, and even to Jaeger himself.

Then there is the simple issue of transporting him. Whilst it would be easy enough with a team of horses to carry or even drag Jaeger back given the incredible low density of titans, there is no knowing how he might react to such modes of transport. From what she has already managed to glean from the reports, not only is Jaeger remarkably strong compared to other titans of a similar size class, and what’s more, he has a basic grasp on how to effectively utilise that strength. Should he prove to be uncooperative – or even aggressive in a worst-case scenario – then they will have little chance of quickly subduing him.

Truthfully, too much about Jaeger remains unknown for Zoe to fully strategize and plan for every eventuality, and so at this stage, her greater concern is bringing him back to this side of Wall Rose. Though he has already proved himself capable of scaling the Walls under his own power, Zoe seriously doubts she’ll be able to turn him loose long enough to witness such a feat herself, more’s the pity. Despite his weight, his sheer size makes manually lifting him over the Wall horrifically impractical, but beyond that, the only option that Zoe can conceive of is simply wheeling him through the gates, something that is sure to cause a stir amongst the still-paranoid, upper-class, Inner-Wall fools. It is fortunate, she supposes, that the majority of the civilians of Wall Rose have started hailing Jaeger as an unsung hero in the battle for Trost. At least they will meet little opposition there.

Such concerns, though, are pushed to the back of her mind for now – she throws open the door to her quarters, and immediately begins digging through the pile of paperwork at the foot of her bed. Levi would drop down dead of an apoplexy if he could see the state of it, but he learned his lesson many years ago; nowadays, he refuses to come within a five-metre radius of whatever she happens to be using as her room at the time.

It takes her some time – when not cataloguing experiments, her system of filing is surprisingly disorganised – before she comes across the map she had started marking out four years ago. Across it, there are hundreds of small crosses, each numbered, the majority of them focused in clumps around heavily wooded areas, and areas known to contain a great number of titans. She has been collecting eyewitness reports regarding Jaeger for years now, and marking off each location that he had been spotted out, trying to isolate a pattern in his behaviour. It had taken a while, but she had eventually noticed that, despite sticking mainly to the giant forests located throughout the interior of Wall Maria, he could be drawn out onto the plains by increased titan activity, or even exceptionally loud, large groups of humans.

Zoe isn’t one of the lucky ones that have had an opportunity to seen him up-close, but like many of the Scouting Legion, she’s been able to spot him from a distance on several separate occasions. It’s almost enough to make her scream in mingled joy and frustration.

What a magnificent specimen he is, though. She can remember seeing him for the first time, almost three years ago, close to the breach in Wall Maria made by the armoured titan. It had been close to dusk when she had turned and caught sight of him purely by chance, in all of his glory, rising from where he had stooped to step through the hole leaving Shinganshina. What he had been doing there she can’t even begin to hypothesise, but on returning to his full height he had thrown back his head to _shriek_ at the sky. The sound was near deafening, and she remembers Levi muttering about how fortunate they were that the sound didn’t draw in every titan in a fifty-kilometre radius.

She had never before, nor has she since, heard anything like it.

All she can do is hope that she won’t have to wait much longer before she can hear it again.

*****

In all of her years in the Scouting Legion, Zoe is hard pressed to think of a time when she was more grateful for Levi’s occasionally unconventional methods of operation. Requesting that Armin and Mikasa be present when beginning the search for Jaeger may have seemed foolish to the members of their Squads (apparently, the search would begin with only the two Squads, and should that prove inefficient, the number would gradually increase) but certainly no-one could deny their effectiveness at finding him.

Their explanation of ‘we saw him head this way after Trost, and there’s a giant forest in this direction, right?’ was more than a little hand-wavy, something that should be addressed at a later date (couldn’t have them concealing any important information from her, oh no) but their instincts had proved spot on.

Although they have been living in close quarters for several weeks now whilst the abandoned HQ was prepared for the arrival of Jaeger, Armin and Mikasa have yet to even attempt to come out of their shells around members of the Scouting Legion. The closest that Zoe has seen them to being comfortable and happy is when they are able to steal a few moments alone in the corner of the dining room, heads bent together, talking in hushed tones.

Despite this, their aid in tracking Jaeger has been invaluable, and so Zoe can’t get too mad at them for wanting some time with one another. They seem to be close friends, after all, and she can only imagine how overwhelming this entire situation must seem to them.

Now though, perched twenty metres above the ground in the branches of a giant – what is this, a fir tree? She makes a note to look into it later, see if Jaeger has any preferences regarding the forests he chooses to hide in – both Armin and Mikasa seem perfectly at ease. They, like everyone else on this mission, are watching Jaeger make his way across the plain ahead. His steps are slow, almost laboured, as though the strain of his enormous frame has become too much for him, but Zoe knows that should the urge strike him, he can sprint as well as any. Slowly, his great head turns first one way then the other, as though he is watching and waiting for something; that something is quick to arrive.

A small cluster of titans, apparently drawn in by Jaeger’s slow and seemingly vulnerable state. It is bizarre that titans, even abnormals, should gang up on another titan this way, but the behaviour of the four titans loping towards Jaeger isn’t what makes her breath catch.

No, what makes her breath catch is Jaeger’s absolutely _stunning_ form as he pivots on one heel, his fist smashing into the face of a seven-metre class as soon as it gets close enough, all signs of lethargy gone from his frame. Even at this distance, she can see the triumph ant way he tosses back his head whilst waiting for the three remaining titans to catch up; it seems that they either have no concept of danger, or have chosen to simply ignore it, because none of them have slowed down.

Jaeger roars as one of the titans runs straight into his kick, its head flying from its shoulders to land somewhere to the left of the battle. Zoe can’t do anything but watch in rapt fascination as Jaeger wastes no time in destroying the stump of the neck.

“Displays a clear knowledge of a titan’s weak spot,” she mutters to herself; it had been mentioned in one of the numerous reports regarding the battle for Trost, but even so, she’ll willingly admit that she is absolutely blown away by Jaeger.  Quickly, she thinks back, trying to remember what other snippets had been mentioned that she may be able to witness, but before she has a chance, Jaeger beats her to it.

“Utilising rudimentary battle tactics,” she gasps as Jaeger throws one of the titans into the only other left alive, neutralising them both long enough for him to finish them off.

“Shut the fuck up,” comes a soft, warning voice from above. Zoe grins to herself. Levi is always more grumpy on missions when sitting around and waiting. When she glances up, though, she can see that he is just as focused on Jaeger as everyone else present, no matter how much he may protest that he doesn’t care.

Eventually, once Jaeger is satisfied that there is no way for the four titans to regenerate, he turns and ambles in their direction, his gait almost casual. As he draws closer, Zoe is finally able to pick out his features, and she has to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing aloud in pure glee. His face reflects his differences as much as everything else about him it seems; he is unlike any titan she has seen before. His lean, muscular frame is a testament to his fighting prowess – though not as bulky as some of the titans she has seen, he has the smallest fat-ratio of any titan she has studied, and his proportions are wonderfully close to human. Perhaps it will make him heavier than anticipated, but she can’t bring herself to care.

She can’t wait to get her hands on him.

From above her, there is a sound like a raven – _hold._ By now she is almost quivering, watching each ground-eating stride that Jaeger takes with an almost indecent eagerness. The raven’s croak comes again – _wait for my signal_. She tenses, waiting, waiting, and Jaeger is almost close enough now to reach via 3DMG, but they have to allow him to move into the centre of their trap.

Just a few more steps, a couple more…

“Now!” Levi hollers from his position in the branches above her; Zoe throws herself forwards, trusting in her 3DMG to catch her, and in her Squad-mates to be in their correct positions. She lets out a gust of air when her left wire attaches safely to it mark, leaving her suspended and steady. Jaeger spins, the sudden appearance of so many humans shocking him into stillness. Zoe can see Levi about to give the second order, and she tenses in preparation, but he never gets the chance.

Despite being surrounded by humans, Jaeger recovers quickly from his surprise and let lets out an ear-splitting howl, plucking furiously at the wires that hold them safely up. Immediately Zoe triggers the release for her left wire, swinging back around to her branch; all around her, she can see her Squad-mates doing the same.

The first plan had failed, it seems, and she swears as she prepares her blades for the second plan, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. She had hoped that they wouldn’t have to resort to this, but before the second plan can be implemented, she sees a flash of movement.

“Shit!” She hears Levi shout, but it is already too late. Armin and Mikasa have swung in around Jaeger – Mikasa’s movements are almost too quick to follow, and though Armin’s are slightly slower, it seems that he is the one leading her. Zoe remembers from the reports that Armin’s specialty is tactics, particularly under stressful conditions; this certainly qualifies under that. Muscles tense, she prepares herself to jump in and help them, or cover them if necessary, but her concern seems unwarranted.

Now that he is no longer surrounded, Jaeger has stilled, and he watches the two bright blurs in front of him. Mikasa’s burgundy scarf catches the wind and billows behind her like a sail while Armin’s gold hair shines the mottled sunlight streaming through the trees – Jaeger seems fascinated by them, eyes tracking their movements back and forth.

It is something that Zoe has never seen before in a titan, yet Jaeger seems perfectly capable of focusing on the two humans before him.

One of his hands begins to lift, but he is not given a chance to complete the movement.

“Fire!” Levi yells. Zoe closes her eyes; she can’t bring herself to watch as Jaeger’s joints are immobilised. _This is the more humane option_ she tells herself again and again, even as she listens to Jaeger’s pained grunts and desperate attempts at struggling. She lets herself down to the forest floor eventually, to aid in restraining him, but he has stilled again, and puts up no resistance when they bind him with specially-designed steel cables.

Levi steps forwards once Jaeger is securely tied up; almost close enough to reach out and touch. Jaeger’s eyes follow the movement closely – they are a bright, burning green up close, the pupils dilated in the poor light at the forest floor. All is quiet for a few moments before Levi snorts.

“I expected more of a fight from you,” he says; he sounds disappointed. Great billows of steam escape Jaeger’s jaws as he huffs, eyes narrowing as he stares at the Corporal. Already there are uncomfortable murmurs from the members of Levi’s Squad, but either he is oblivious, or he simply ignores them, leaning closer. He keeps his hands tucked behind his back, as far from Jaeger’s blood-stained face as he can. Jaeger watches him, going almost cross-eyed as he tries to focus on the human before him.

Zoe can see Levi’s mouth moving, can hear him muttering something, but it is lost to the sound of Jaeger’s great, heaving breaths. Nonetheless, it almost looks as though Jaeger is listening.

Eventually, Levi nods to himself and straightens up, turning to walk away. There is a cry of warning as Jaeger opens his mouth, exposed teeth bloody and sharp, jaw creaking as he does so, but Levi does not bother turning back as Jaeger screams at him. He waits until the sound has stopped, lip curling as he turns to glare over his shoulder at Jaeger, who glares defiantly back.

“Your breath is foul,” Levi says at last. “Something will have to be done about that.”

He turns and walks away.


	4. Interlude - Jaeger

Dark, he can’t see, he can’t move without stabbing pains everywhere everywhere, he struggles desperately, but that only makes it worse, so much worse. The humans surrounding him speak incessantly, their voices quick and quiet, speaking words he doesn’t know or even recognise. Some of the voices are familiar to him – he knows the tone of the man from the trees that stood fearlessly before him. Though he is very small, even for a human, he is not small like a young one, and his voice is the voice of commands waiting to be obeyed. 

He remembers another human, a boy that was also not-young-small but was not important like this one is, bathed in the blood of his fellows and his enemies alike. Remembers the shrieks that rang in his ears when he slaughtered the last titan left alive. Remembers leaving the small human to escape back over the Wall.

Most of all, he remembers the angry tone of the small human’s voice when he had shouted ( _why, why save me and not them you useless piece of shit? Why weren’t they good enough for you?_ ) at his retreating back.

This small important man can sound angry like that too, he has learnt.

He is fast coming to recognise the sound of the quick, important woman with her bright chatter and fast-paced movements. Many times she paces around him, footsteps light and rhythmic, voice a never-ending barrage, leaving him feeling heavy and useless in comparison. Some of the words she speaks he knows already, recalled from his time with Dr. Jaeger, and although the concept of language has never settled well with him, he could not help but pick up a few often repeated words such as ‘titan’ and ‘experiment’.

More importantly than that, though, he hears the soft, welcome tones of the girl with the dark red about her throat and the boy with eyes like summer. They speak _to_ him as well as around him; he can hear the difference when they come close, long after the other humans have fallen silent. He likes their voices – soft and sweet and warm, he cannot help but be reminded of the beloved woman with warm autumn hair.

It is difficult for him to comprehend why they would be with the small, important man, and the quick, important woman. Many years have passed since he last saw Dr. Jaeger, but he is sure that they should be with him. Maybe he’s waiting somewhere for them.

He doesn’t much care. As long as they allow him to continue slaughtering any titans that think to come too close, he’ll go with them easily enough.

Anything else he can deal with.


	5. Chapter 3 - Levi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A success and a greeting. This titan has its merits.

Overall, the trip should be considered a phenomenal success. Levi knows this, he can acknowledge this on a purely intellectual level. He can’t, however, help but find that difficult to remember when he has been travelling alongside a fifteen metre class titan that is coated in blood and… other things that he does not want to consider for close to a week.

Ordinarily, the journey could be completed in a couple of day or even less with a small group travelling at top speed, but with the enormous, heavily restrained Jaeger in tow, the going is rather slower. It was fortunate, he reflects, that it took this long for another titan to notice their group.

It would have been more fortunate if the titan had waited until they reached an area where the 3DMG could work to their advantage rather than on an open pain, but it’s not too much of a hassle. A single, seven metre class against two of the Scouting Legion’s best Squads should have been slaughtered in seconds. Of course, that is without factoring in the fifteen metre class that started  struggling desperately against the bonds strapping him down as soon as the seven metre class came within hearing (and smelling) distance.

So, naturally, approximately half of the soldiers present turn their focus to Jaeger, checking that his joints are still sufficiently immobilised, that the blindfold is secure, that all of the steel cables are winched in tightly enough.

Personally, Levi doesn’t see how that could possibly take precedence at this point – with another titan in such close proximity, it is highly unlikely that Jaeger would try to escape, even if he were to break free from his bonds. His desire to fight titans is, as they have all now seen, utterly consuming. It’s likely that if the restraints were to be removed, he wouldn’t even notice the humans surrounding him.

There is no time, however, to stop and point that out, because a second titan – an abnormal going by its strange, leaping gait – is already hurrying towards them, and they still do not have the advantage of the terrain. Levi grits his teeth and scowls. He knows by now how this will go; they will have to wait for the titans to come in close enough that a few of the soldiers are able to use their bodies as supports for the 3DMG. Although those on the ground will be exposed, the distraction of so many humans crowded in such a small, easily accessible space is usually enough to slow the titan down enough that reaching the nape of the neck is extremely simple.

Not that it ever goes so well.

It is rare that all of the soldiers in question, even in the experienced Scouting Legion, can hold their nerve on the ground for long enough to draw the titans in close. One or two will break and run; sometimes towards the titan, sometimes not. Either way, they make excellent targets, and though they do serve as a distraction of sorts, there are almost always casualties.

Then are the rare titans that, when they feel the prick of the grappling hooks lodging beneath their skin, turn their attentions away from their meals, and towards the soldiers currently attempting to destroy them.

Never, not in all of his years in the Scouting Legion, has Levi seen such a relatively simple situation dissolve so quickly into something with a good chance of becoming a bloodbath.

There are still only two titans in sight, thankfully, but with the ruckus they are making – which is only aided by Jaeger’s furious howls and attempts at thrashing – that is not likely to last. The leaping titan is the first to come close enough, by which time one of Hanji’s Squad has turned tail and ran. Levi spares an extremely brief moment to watch him go before putting the man from his mind and focusing on the problems at hand. With half of the group still struggling desperately against Jaeger and the other half waiting for his orders, he knows there is little that can be done beyond a flat-out attack.

He is surprised to see that when he gives the order, Ackerman and Arlert are two of the first to propel themselves into the air at the abnormal. Given their unusual attachment to Jaeger (as though he hadn’t noticed the late night ‘chats’ and unreadable glances. He had yet to figure out precisely what they meant, but there would be time enough for that later) he might have thought that they would remain on the ground with him, but to Levi’s relief, they do not even seem to spare a thought for him. He only wishes that the rest of the group possessed even a fraction of that good sense. It would appear that they, like him, have recognised Jaeger as being a secondary concern in the face of titans that are driven by the sole aim of devouring human flesh.

Levi can’t help but swear when he notices his mistake a mere second too late. This abnormal titan is _fast_ , and unfortunately, it seems that its mind and reflexes are able to keep up with the rest of it.

It leaps to the side, leaving the majority of the grappling hooks sent out falling uselessly back through the air. Those that had managed to somehow attach are dragged after the titan – Levi can hear their shouting, and he swears again, making to leap after them, only to be interrupted as the second titan arrives in a series of thundering, unsteady steps. For a moment, everything is chaos around him – some have managed to detach from the abnormal whilst others cling on, some are preparing to attack the second titan (Levi is already in motion, his 3DMG moving as smoothly as any of his limbs) and some are still preoccupied with Jaeger. He has lost sight of Hanji, lost sight of Auruo, lost sight of Ackerman and Arlert but he can’t afford to waste time worrying over them right now, as the titans begin picking at the soldiers still on the ground, and all around him is the sound of screaming…

Several of the steel cables holding Jaeger down snap. He roars, gaining the attention of the two titans.

He pulls himself to his feet painfully slowly, joints screeching in protest loud enough that even Levi can hear it above the pounding of blood in his ears. His range of movement is limited by the cables that twine around him, some of which are still intact, but he is able to duck his head and lift a hand high enough to drag the blindfold down to his neck like a mockery of a scarf. Steam hisses from his jaws as he eyes the titans, both of which are starting to turn from him, back towards the humans. Levi has barely enough time to wonder about that, after the titans at Trost had supposedly been so fascinated by him.

Beneath him, the ground shakes as Jaegers throws himself two steps forwards. With his arms all but pinned to his sides, there is little he can do to prevent the seven metre class from lifting the human in its hand – Petra, oh God, Petra – to its mouth.

Jaeger dives and sinks his teeth into the titan’s exposed forearm, hard enough that Levi can hear the crunching of bone, and the wet tearing of flesh. Only when the hand is hanging by a length of skin and muscle and nothing more does his jaw unlock, and Jaeger puts his size and weight advantage to good use, knocking the titan’s legs out from beneath it and shoving it hard with his shoulder. It goes down heavily on its back, and Petra goes flying. Levi watches her right herself in mid-air, but the only available thing to lock onto is Jaeger; something that she does with no hesitation.

For his part, Jaeger doesn’t even seem to notice the human hanging from his waist. He plants his foot on the titan’s neck and brings it down with staggering force, again and again, until all that’s left is a steaming carcass.

Then, and only then does he turn to stare at the abnormal. It has stilled in this time, and Levi curses himself for not noticing, for not attacking whilst he had the chance.

Jaeger tilts his head back, baring his throat. His eyes seem to glow beneath the shadow of his hair; his mouth opens and steam pours forth like a warning. Several more of the steel cables that were tangled about his torso have snapped, and most of them hang loosely from him. Levi is relieved to notice that Petra has managed to get herself out of immediate danger. Slowly, his joints grinding with a sound like nails down a blackboard, Jaeger brings his hands – loosely curled into fists, Levi realises – up, one either side of his face, in a parody of a fighting stance.

Hanji’s excitement, wherever she may be, is a tangible thing.

For a brief moment, everything is still and silent – the only sound is provided by the ragged heaving of Jaeger’s chest as his body tries to regenerate around the many spikes that have shifted about in his joints. That moment is broken as the abnormal turns, leaping away. Levi watches it go with something like hatred broiling deep in his stomach. There’s no possible way for them to catch up to it; if he’d only moved when it had been distracted by Jaeger –

Jaeger’s cry follows it, and he makes a move as though about to give chase when four voices call out simultaneously; Levi hadn’t really been aware that his was one of them until Erd and Gunther (both of whom are the closest to him) turn to stare.

Somehow, miraculously, it works – Jaeger pauses, turns, stares. Stares first at Hanji, then at him, something indefinable in his eyes, before turning to face Ackerman and Arlert, who have managed to work their way to the fringes of the group, closer to Jaeger than anyone. They stand before the unrestrained titan, completely fearless. Ackerman rests a hand at her throat, buried in the red fabric of her scarf, and Arlert smiles through the tears that have gathered at the corners of his eyes. Levi holds his breath, and from the centre of the group, he can almost feel Hanji doing the same.

A great gust of steam envelopes the two like a sigh as Jaeger settles to his knees, folding his enormous frame inwards until he can watch them at eye-level, his chin resting on the ground. His green eyes are sharp, almost wary, but very much aware.

Ackerman steps forward, the hand in her scarf tightening briefly before she unwinds it, moving close enough to Jaeger that she can wrap it once around his wrist where it lies just in front of his exposed teeth. His mouth opens a little, a soft sound working its way up from low in his throat. The gaze that he had kept fixed upon the girl turns slowly to the slash of red about his wrist, and there is a minute change in his otherwise-fixed expression. It is hard to tell with a face so strange and alien, but Levi can’t help but think that if it were on a human, he might describe the look as being ‘sad’. Those eyes roll back to Ackerman, and they stay there as he unwraps the scarf from his wrist to dump it unceremoniously on her head.

Levi doesn’t understand what has just taken place – he doubts that any besides Ackerman and Jaeger truly do – but like everyone else, he turns and pretends not to see the tears that make their way down her face.

 *****

The rest of the journey is made with Jaeger walking upright, arms bound to his sides by the steel cables that remain intact. He is placid enough, tolerating the curious looks, prodding and light-hearted jokes with far more grace than Levi could ever have managed. Then again, it seems that for all of his intelligence, his understanding of humans is still severely limited, so perhaps it is that that saves Auruo’s life when he accidentally bites his tongue, sending blood spraying over Jaeger’s face when the titan has settled down for the evening. Jaeger jerks back with something like disgusted affront twisting his features (or perhaps Levi is projecting – it’s so hard to tell) much to the amusement of all present.

Hanji can barely contain herself, and even Levi’s increasingly snappy remarks do nothing to damper her enthusiasm. Still, he can’t find it in himself to truly blame her. Not only is Jaeger everything that she had hoped for and more in a test subject, but now that Jaeger is permitted to walk alongside them, they are less than a day’s ride from Wall Rose.

Though Ackerman has remained conspicuously silent since her scarf was left in a crumpled heap atop her head, Arlert has never been so cheerful. He smiles widely whenever he looks over at Jaeger – an extremely regular occurrence, as far as Levi can tell – and is far more willing to chat to the other members of the Scouting Legion. Now that it has been made more than apparent that the titan has no interest in attacking humans, or even in running away, the boy spends much of his time in Jaeger’s company, talking enough for him and Ackerman. Jaeger listens along with no comprehension visible on his face.

Maybe he just likes the sound of the boy’s voice, though Levi can’t imagine why.

It is mid-afternoon the next day when they finally arrive at the Wall – everyone is in high spirits. It’s unusual for a journey outside of the Wall to end with zero fatalities and only minor wounds. Auruo complains more about his bitten tongue than any of those injured in the fight with the titans. Levi offers to solve the problem by cutting it out completely; at that, Auruo pales and shuts up.

He smiles as soon as the man turns away.

The gates at the Karanese District do not open as soon as they arrive, and the horses shift restlessly as they wait for the all-clear. Several members of the Stationary Guard peer over the edge of the Wall to try to get a closer look at Jaeger, and a few brave souls even lower themselves a short distance to try to get a better viewpoint. Jaeger tilts his back to stare at them also, and he huffs a quick breath through his nose, a cloud of steam rising to obscure his face and ruin their chances of seeing him properly.

Nonetheless, Levi is aware that they make an impressive sight. A titan, free to walk as it so pleases, surrounded only by a small group of soldiers. It is unprecedented, which is why Levi is more than slightly stunned at the cheer that goes up when the gate is lifted and Jaeger has ducked through, hunching into himself to fit through the gap.

The entire town must have turned out to see them when the call went up that they’d been spotted. The citizens line the streets, held in check only by the presence of the Standing Guard, who ensure that there is enough room for them to pass through.

Jaeger stares about him in something like horrified confusion. Levi doubts that he’s ever seen so many humans all at once that weren’t running away and screaming; still, he walks along easily enough, placing each foot with the utmost care. Now that he can no longer get away with simply ignoring humans and their pitiful existence, he seems all too aware of precisely how much of a danger he could be; every step is a small miracle, in Levi’s opinion.

They get through safely, though, despite the fact that as they pass, the crowd closes behind them and follows them through the streets until they reach Wall Rose proper. Levi’s scowl deepens when it becomes clear that the crowd isn’t about to dissipate anytime soon, but everyone seems happy enough, so he refrains from commenting.

The crowd leaves them at the second gate, cheering and waving. Jaeger spares them a last glance before ducking beneath the arch – Levi is just glad to leave them behind. From there it is only a couple of hours to the HQ, and he is looking forward to sleeping in a real bed for the first time in a week. The others share his sentiments, and the pace quickens as they near their destination. If Jaeger has any idea of what is truly happening, he shows no sign of it; he simply ambles alongside them, his pace almost leisurely in comparison to their brisk canter.

At HQ, they are not greeted by cheers and crowds and hordes of civilians, but instead by a warm, relieved smile from their commander, by other Squads taking their horses from them, and the instruction that, before they do anything else, they are to get themselves cleaned up, and try to catch up on a good night’s rest.

Levi much prefers this method of greeting.


	6. Chapter 4 - Erwin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fright and a bonding experience. Of sorts - Erwin's really not too sure.

Erwin wakes to the sound of a scream.

Before he can wake fully, he has thrown himself from his bed and is running down the corridors barefoot, 3DMG in one hand, already preparing himself for the worst. Despite pushing for the capture and detainment of the titan, he always knew that it would be a risk. Even so, he had hoped that the potential benefits of a titan that could be used to further humanity’s cause would outweigh the risks, particularly given this one’s apparent disinterest towards humans. As Levi would say, he couldn’t have known the consequences of his decision, but even so, he can’t help but feel regret pounding through him with every step closer to the courtyard.

At the very least, he cannot hear the titan’s footsteps, so it is possible that the situation is being taken care of, but he can’t help but put on an extra burst of speed as he turns the last corner and –

Hanji is on her knees before Jaeger, rocking back and forth slightly like a child. A quick check shows the titan still pinned to the ground and fully immobilised as it had been when Erwin had left it under the supervision of Squad Nine the previous night. Glancing around, there is no sign of any struggle, no blood on the cobbles, no-one missing a limb or two – in fact, everyone seems to be shuffling awkwardly from foot to foot and trying to avoid looking at Hanji or the titan.

The titan watches Hanji silently; she is close enough that each scalding breath he heaves rocks her back a little.

From where he stands on the other side of the courtyard, Erwin can hear her sobs.

Drawing himself up to his full height, Erwin ignores the fact that he is barefoot and still in his rumpled sleeping clothes with his 3DMG strapped hastily over the top, and steps out into the courtyard. He is not noticed immediately, but then, that is too be expected when everyone’s eyes are on the shaking heap of a woman that has collapsed within touching distance of a fifteen metre class titan.

“What, precisely, is going on here?” He calls, and Hanji is up on her feet almost before he has time to blink, hurrying to his side and grabbing a fistful of his shirt so that she can drag him down to her eye level. It is often easy to forget that apart from Levi, she is quite possibly the strongest soldier currently serving in the Scouting Legion – not only that, but her fascination with the titans has left her almost fearless. Looking at her now, Erwin doesn’t understand how anyone could ever doubt that. She looks almost manic, her eyes unfocused, and Erwin can tell at a glance that she hasn’t slept since returning to HQ.

“Look!” She cries, waving a hand behind her in the general direction of the titan. “Look at what they’ve done to him!”

Erwin looks, but he still can’t see anything amiss. Hanji doesn’t wait long enough for him to reply, dragging him forward by his shirt until they stand mere feet away from the titan. Still it doesn’t move to attack them, its eyes a duller green than he remembers from the night before.

“Can’t you see how much pain he’s in?” She yells, her voice cracking. Erwin flinches back a little as her voice rises in both volume and pitch. “Hasn’t he suffered enough?” By now, Erwin is completely lost. She drags him a step closer to the titan, who lifts his head slowly to stare at them, gaze utterly blank and devoid of any emotion. If it is in pain, it’s certainly not displaying any signs that Erwin can see. But then, he is not nearly as much of an expert on titan behaviour as Hanji is; even if he were, he doubts that any prior knowledge could be applicable in this situation. He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose.

“We have to keep it immobilised,” he says gently, hiding his confusion. Hanji has had several test subjects before now, and not once had she seemed disturbed by the conditions that they were kept in.

“We don’t have to prevent him for moving completely,” she tries to reason, calming a little now that it is clear that Erwin is willing to at least listen to what she has to say. “The last day of the journey was spent with him restrained using only the steel cables – he was free to walk as he chose, and didn’t attempt to run away or attack any of us. Just strapping him more or less into place will suffice – I thought that I specified that he wasn’t to be harmed when we arrived last night.” As a matter of fact, she had – Erwin had assumed that it was a general order not to kill it before it could at least be thoroughly studied.

He watches her face closely for any hint of a falsehood. “Are you sure that he is not a threat to us? Can you guarantee that we will be safe if he is allowed even a small range of movement?”

She tilts her head back a little, chin thrust defiantly forward. “I would not risk my team for mere guesswork, sir.”

Erwin nods once.

“You heard her,” he calls, watching with faint amusement as all of the soldiers in the immediate vicinity snap to attention, fists clenched over their hearts so tightly that they begin to tremble. It is nice to see that he can command such a high level of respect even when not in uniform. “Get those things out of him!” There is a mad rush as the soldiers scramble over one another to obey him – he can see that many of them shake like leaves when they get too close to the titan, but he does not react to them in any way, apparently lost in his own world. Hanji rests her palm against his wrist, the only part of the titan that she can currently reach.

“Don’t worry,” he hears her whisper. “This’ll be over soon.”

The sound of staccato footsteps behind him gives him pause, and he turns to see Levi making his way across the courtyard, immaculate as ever. One thin brow lifts as he takes in Erwin’s state of (un)dress, but he thankfully refrains from commenting.

“She seems a lot more… attached to this one,” he murmurs as soon as Levi is close enough. One corner of his mouth twitches, but other than that, there is no change in his expression. Levi watches Jaeger with cool eyes and feigned disinterest; Erwin can see the way he leans forward ever so slightly, weight on the balls of his feet. Though Levi’s nose crinkles slightly at the state the titan is in, he seems relaxed enough in his presence, even as the spikes are removed from his joints. Erwin turns to Levi. “Why do you suppose that is, Captain?”

Levi doesn’t even glance at him as he replies. “Probably because this one will let her touch him without trying to bite her reckless head off.”

“Moblit must be ecstatic,” Erwin says drily, only half-joking. Levi hums.

“I wouldn’t go that far, sir,” he says, nodding to where Hanji’s assistant stands, anxiously shifting his weight, and starting forward every time Jaeger even so much as twitches. So far, the titan hasn’t made a move towards her, though steam billows from his mouth with a sound like a sigh with every spike that is removed. It takes some doing – each spike is several metres in length and sunk deep into the titan’s flesh. They are far heavier and more substantial than the spikes used to immobilise him on the field, and each one requires a team of several men to drag out and away from the titan; the wounds begin to close as soon as they are opened.

Erwin can’t help but take a half step forward when the titan suddenly slumps forwards, eyes falling shut as the final spike is removed. However, he makes no further attempts to move, simply rests as best he can when still half-suspended from the steel cables. Levi nods to himself once before abruptly turning on his heel and stalking away, muttering something about gathering supplies and ‘volunteers’, however unwilling they may be. By now, Erwin has learnt better than to ask.

 *****

Levi returns with a troop of nervous-looking newbies, Ackerman, Arlert and a cart stacked high with what looks like buckets of water, old curtains and blankets, and a few brooms. Thankfully, Erwin has had time to make himself presentable, so he doesn’t feel at all embarrassed in walking up to the group and peering at each of them in turn, arms folded. He turns to Levi, who gazes back at him evenly, his expression giving nothing away.

“Do I even want to know?” He sighs. Levi’s lips thin.

“I will not be made to share a living space with such a disgustingly filthy creature,” he says evenly. “Titan or no, I will not stand for it. These brats were with Ackerman and Arlert in the hundred and fourth trainee group, and they have kindly offered their services.”

Erwin turns to face them and tries to call to mind each of their names. There was an uncommonly large amount of new recruits from this particular division, if he recalls correctly – though how Levi could have found out so quickly when the decision was made whilst he was across the Wall, Erwin doesn’t want to know. Let’s see – there are seven recruits here not including Ackerman or Arlert.

Jean Kirschstein stands at the front of the group, his stance defiant, though his eyes are fixed upon not Erwin, but the titan behind him, his jaw clenched. Connie Springer stands close to him, eyeing the titan and Erwin by turns. Just behind him is Sasha Braus, who chews calmly on the bread roll that she has somehow managed to sneak away from the dining hall – despite himself, Erwin is impressed. He knows how difficult it is to smuggle food out of there with the head cook always glowering at the room as a whole.  Christa Renz and Ymir no-last-name stand together a little way off, talking quietly to each other, and it is impossible not to notice the wary glances Ymir keeps levelling at the titan. At the back of the group stands Reiner Braun and Berthold Hoover, both of whom seem curious but largely unaffected by the situation as a whole.

Ackerman and Arlert stand beside Levi, as relaxed as Erwin has ever seen them.

“Ah, Levi!” Hanji calls, making her way over. Her hair is dishevelled, her glasses crooked on her nose, but she doesn’t seem to notice. “You’re just in time! I was just about to start the naming ceremony!” Levi scowls.

“No you weren’t. For a start, according to you he already _has_ a name –” he talks over her protests that without the ceremony, it won’t be official, just a nickname of sorts “ – and even if that weren’t the case, you wouldn’t want such a filthy being taking part in one of your ceremonies, _would you_?” His eyes are a steely grey and his voice is cold enough to match, but Hanji doesn’t appear to notice, already too lost in her bliss. She smiles warmly at him, ignoring the confused and somewhat disturbed looks being aimed her way by the new recruits. Only Ackerman and Arlert are unaffected, already used to her eccentricities.

“Of course not,” she all but purrs, her smug grin setting off alarm bells in Erwin’s head. “You go right ahead.”

If Levi is at all disquieted by her tone, he does an admirable job of hiding it, already divvying up the cleaning materials between the new recruits and directing them on where to go. Jaeger watches the proceedings closely, though he makes no move to stop the recruits from approaching him. Most of them look scared out of their wits, but they obey their orders nonetheless; Jaeger, who is being kept on his knees as though in prayer, lowers his face to ground level to watch them scurry about him, eyes flicking back and forth. Most often, though, he watches Levi, Hanji and Erwin himself. He thinks nothing of it until Hanji mutters under her breath something about recognising figures of authority.

With some shock, he realises that she is most probably right. Whilst Jaeger is distracted by the sheer amount of hustle and bustle going on around him, he seems to have no trouble in identifying who is in charge of whom.

Perhaps that is the reason that he keeps such a close eye on Levi when he approaches Jaeger’s head, broom in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. Then again, it could just be the amusing picture that it makes – the Captain carrying a broom almost as tall as he is with such deadly seriousness and absolute focus. He places the bucket by his feet and dips the tip of the broom in it before swinging it up over his shoulder, glaring daggers at Jaeger.

“You’d better not twitch and get me covered in water, brat,” he says, and sets about – Erwin has to bite his lip to stifle a laugh – cleaning Jaeger’s teeth.

One by one, the recruits grow bold enough to start clambering over Jaeger to reach the particularly dirty spots, working in twos and threes. Ackerman and Arlert waste no time in climbing up to Jaeger’s shoulders, and start scrubbing at his hair. They spend almost half an hour like that – long enough for Levi to have completed his work on Jaeger’s teeth and move onto washing his face with half a torn blanket – before realising that they can’t do any more for it, and sliding down to the nape of his neck.

For the first time, Jaeger strains at his bindings for a brief second, twisting slightly as though he could see who has dared to stand above his weak spot. He settles as soon as Armin drops to his knees, palms pressed flat against the skin, muttering furiously – what Erwin wouldn’t give to find out just what was said. Levi scowls and flicks the sodden blanket at Jaeger.

“What did I tell you about twitching, you shitty excuse for a titan?”

At that, Erwin can’t help but laugh, just a little. Hanji, who has been making diligent notes the entire time, scribbles something so quickly that the lead of her pencil snaps, biting her lip to hide a chuckle. The sound of soft giggles behind him tells him that Petra is also watching – and if she is here, then it is likely that all of Levi’s Squad are nearby. Levi turns just far enough that he can glare over his shoulder at them, before turning back, setting his shoulders and proceeding to dutifully ignore them all.

There is a low sound, like a hum of satisfaction, when Levi and the recruits resume washing Jaeger, and the titan’s eyes slip half-shut, the previous tension flooding out of him.

All told it takes them almost two hours to get Jaeger completely clean – that is to say, clean to a standard that Levi would deem acceptable. Erwin watches the entire spectacle, a small smile on his face at the sight. It is something that he suspects few will ever get to witness; a titan drowsing in the sun like a cat whilst a small troop of soldiers give it a thorough bath.

Hanji stands as soon as the cleaning equipment has been loaded back onto the cart, clapping her hands together with a broad smile. Jaeger barely reacts, eyelids fluttering once. Erwin sighs heavily – with any luck, the titan will snap out of his peculiar lethargy soon. He won’t be of any use at all like this on a battlefield. He doesn’t even move when Hanji steps in close enough to press her forehead to his face, only heaves a great breath that sends her staggering.

She rights herself laughing, leaving Moblit pale-faced and shaking like a leaf in the background.

“Many years ago,” she begins, pacing back and forth before Jaeger. His gaze follows her lazily. “Before humanity hid itself away behind the three Walls that have protected us these past hundred years, and even before the titans first emerged onto this world, human beings were spread right across the globe.” She pauses, glances at Jaeger to see if he is listening. It is hard to tell, but he certainly doesn’t understand what she is going on about. Nonetheless, Hanji gives a satisfied nod and resumes her pacing.

“Unlike us, these humans had many different languages – perhaps you would even recognise some of them, hm? There is no knowing how old you are.

“The languages of the humans served many different purposes,” she continues as though she had not interrupted herself mid-tirade. “They could show where a human had been brought up, and how it lived its life. They could be used to pass secret messages. They could be used for science, and for religion! The languages of the humans from before were varied, wonderful things! There were humans that could speak many different languages, and some that could not speak a single one. There were languages that did not rely on words, but on gestures!

“When the titans came, and humanity pushed to the brink of extinction, many of these languages were lost,” she says, shaking her head mournfully. “A common tongue was developed, and now that is all that we, the citizens within the Walls speak. But that does not mean that we have completely forgotten the old ways! Fragments of these languages have been passed down through the generations – there are still those that speak their ancestral language almost fluently!

“In this part of the world, there was a language known for its harsh sounds and extensive vocabulary,” Hanji says, finally getting to the point. “It is from this language that you name originates! For what better way to utilise a language than to let it define you, and let you define it?

“You are named for the most brilliant scientist and doctor of the modern age! You are named for the pioneer that first dared to imagine your existence! You are named ‘hunter’, for that is what you are, and what you will someday go down in history as! You are the first titan to choose your own kind as your prey, to choose the humans over them!”

She pauses and gulps a deep lungful of air, throwing back her head and spreading her arms wide as though in welcome.

“You are Jaeger!”

The ground trembles beneath them.


	7. Chapter 5 - Mikasa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A talk and an idea. She will never forget what he has done for her.

Jaeger roars and rears back as far as he can, trying to get his feet beneath him. His head swings back and forth, a constant stream of grunts and huffs falling from his mouth as he twists in his bindings, straining against them. Behind her, the rest of the hundred and fourth trainees flinch away, despite several of them having witnessed Jaeger saving their lives, despite being so comfortable in his presence earlier. Mikasa grits her teeth and throws herself forwards.

Armin is a half-step behind her, but he could never run as fast as she could, his mind always moved so much quicker than the rest of him, but Mikasa doesn’t give herself time to think. In this situation, stopping to rationalise is probably the worst thing that she can do. If she stops to think about all of the ways that this is an incredibly bad idea with a real possibility of ending with bloodshed then she might never be able to start again. Jaeger won’t hurt her. He’s had his chances, he’s had plenty of them, but he has shown her again and again a kindness that she has found lacking in a great many humans through her life.

He saved her life twice directly; in retaking Trost, he saved her and she doesn’t care to count how many others. But if this keeps up, no matter what he has done, nothing she or Armin can say will be enough to help him.

She owes him her life. She made him a promise. If there is anything that she learnt from the time before, when her life was simple and sweet and happy, it is that she should always keep her promises.  This is not a promise that she has ever said aloud – in fact, it is likely that even if she did, it would mean nothing to Jaeger. To her, though, that doesn’t mean that it is any less binding. In a way it is even more so; the promise is hers and hers alone. She is the only one that will know if she fails, and she is the only one that can make sure that doesn’t happen.

With Jaeger still thrashing, she and Armin can only get so close. She spreads her hands wide and skids to a halt, Armin arriving a split second later, standing by her side with his palms also spread and facing upwards. She doesn’t know how much Jaeger understands about human weaponry, but she needs him to understand that she isn’t here to hurt him.

This reaction of his could be any number of things. It could be a mere coincidence.

In fifteen short (long, so long, dragging out before her endlessly) years, Mikasa has come to realise a great many things about herself, and one of those things is that she absolutely does not believe in coincidences.

“He’s not here,” she calls up to him, and that familiar, inhuman face swings around to focus on her, green eyes bright beneath locks of matted hair, because no matter how hard she and Armin had tried, there was just too much of it for the two of them to properly wash. She waits, watches for the flash of recognition in his eyes before she steps closer, Armin moving in step with her, watching and waiting for the same cues.

“He’s not here,” Armin repeats, and Jaeger turns to face him, still breathing heavily, brow furrowed now in confusion. Mikasa doesn’t know how much he understands of what they are saying, but she knows that there has to be a way to make him see this. Maybe they should step back and away for now, let the senior members of the Scouting Legion handle this for now – Jaeger had seemed accepting enough of them before, and she is confident now that no matter how distressed he may become, there is no chance of him hurting them. This was the creature that had seen a scared, hurt child in the woods and had chosen to kill her attackers, not eat them, who had left her with a scarf, a scar on her hands where she had picked up wrong end of the knife in her desperation, and memories that she couldn’t sort into logical patterns. There was no way a titan could be inside Wall Maria. No way that a titan would protect a child like this. No way a titan would meet her gaze and then turn to leave before she had a chance to run.

But Jaeger had done all of that and more. So no, he will not harm the members of the Scouting Legion, of that she is sure.

That does not mean that she will just leave him to them, though.

“We know who it is that you’re looking for,” Armin says, his voice so soft that even she can barely hear it. Jaeger’s head tilts the slightest fraction, as though he is listening. Armin smiles, and it shakes on his face. “We know why you reacted to the name like that, but Dr. Jaeger isn’t here.”

It’s a calculated risk saying his name like that, she knows. But this is Armin, and there is no-one she would trust more to make calculated risks involving her life. Jaeger shifts a little at the mention of his name, but other than that he remains calm. Mikasa takes a deep breath, stepping up to Jaeger – he rears back a little, though it can’t possibly comfortable for him. The only thing she can think is that he’s trying to keep some measure of distance between them; something that is near impossible for him to decide when he strapped down in place. So she waits, shuffles back a half-pace and watches his reaction carefully.

He bows his head, eyes hidden from them.

“We’re sorry,” she says quietly. “We don’t know where he is. We haven’t seen him either. We can’t help you the way you want us to.

“We know that you miss him,” she continues slowly, sounding it out as she goes and not questioning how she knows that she is right. “And more than that, you miss her, don’t you?” One hand creeps up to her throat, to touch the scarf that has stayed there for six years now. “She told me, after Dr. Jaeger brought me back with him, that she made this for you, to make up for screaming the first time you met. She didn’t think you really cared, but you wore it from that day until the day we met, and then you gave it to me. The first gift you received from the first person to treat you like a human, and you gave it to me.

“And you wouldn’t take it back,” she continues, her voice wobbling almost imperceptibly. She swallows and tries again. “Even though I could see how much you wanted it back, you wouldn’t keep it. I didn’t know if you remembered that day, but then you gave it back to me, and I knew that all of this time, you remembered…”

“You saved our lives,” Armin takes over gently. “I’m sorry that we can’t help you. I’m sorry that Dr. Jaeger isn’t here. But we are, and we’ll help you find him, if you’ll let us.”

He turns to face Mikasa, and she watches him silently for a moment, giving him time to gather himself and explain. He still isn’t used to this, used to having people rely on him for answers that could mean the difference between life and death. However well he has done, and continues to do in such tense situations, she doubts that he will ever truly be used to this. She lets him take a deep breath, pull his thoughts into coherency and tell her his plan.

“Dr. Jaeger always told you that you could find answers in his basement, didn’t he? About the titans, I mean,” he says slowly. She nods once; she doubts that Armin needs the confirmation. “I don’t know how he would have gathered knowledge of the titans without the help of, uh, Jaeger, so I think it’s a pretty safe bet that whatever we find down there will have to do with him, right?”

She nods again.

“So we need to get Jaeger to Shinganshina,” he says almost to himself, as though it makes perfect sense. And perhaps it does.

“We lost two hundred taking back Trost,” she reminds him, though not unkindly. She understands that this is most probably the best solution to figuring out Jaeger, but she has to be pragmatic. Armin is still caught up in his idea, and she doesn’t know whether this has yet occurred to him or not.

“We don’t need to recapture it,” he corrects her hastily, shaking his head. Jaeger watches them both with something that looks a little like mild interest. Maybe it is their emphatic tones, or the fact that this entire conversation has been spoken using only whispers, but hut he seems far more intrigued than she has ever seen him before. Or perhaps it is the simple fact that in this conversation alone they must have used more words that he might recognise than in any of the conversations had with him in hearing distance since he was detained a week ago. “We just need to get there with Jaeger.”

Mikasa doesn’t know what to do. She knows how risky it would be, braving the world outside of the Wall again for so flimsy and uncertain a goal, even with Jaeger in tow. She knows that in doing so, they would be putting everyone that sought to join them on the mission in danger. She knows that there are no guarantees even if they can make it there alive. But she also knows Armin, knows how he thinks, how he plans for every eventuality. She knows her friend and she knows her own instincts, and she trusts them both. She takes a deep breath and she nods.


	8. Chapter 6 - Zoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A debrief and an explanation. Zoe doesn't understand these kids, except she does.

They are called into Erwin’s office for an immediate debrief that begins something like this:

“What the fuck was that?”

Trust Levi to get straight to the heart of the matter. Zoe’s mind is still reeling a little, but thankfully Levi and Erwin seem to be past that stage already, or perhaps are simply very good at working through it. In all of her years fighting and studying titans, she has never seen such a reaction – fierce and violent but unfocused and ultimately harmless to humans. Nor has she ever had the opportunity to watch a titan get talked down from anything by anyone. It was a unique experience, and she can’t help but be so incredibly grateful that she was able to witness it. Nevertheless, she desperately needs to know the whole story, know what it was that set Jaeger off.

Ackerman and Arlert – though she thinks that after the day that they’ve all had, she should probably be on first names terms with them now – sit in stony silence, watching Erwin cautiously. Levi stands at his shoulder; his arms crossed and scowl as deep as she has ever seen it. Truthfully, all she wants to do is shake the answers from Mikasa and Armin, and possibly collapse in a heap at their feet, but she tactfully refrains.

“Sir?” Mikasa asks, her voice shockingly level in the face of Levi’s furious scowl and Erwin’s raised eyebrow.

“You’ve been withholding information,” Erwin says flatly, staring first at one then the other. “We’ve overlooked it thus far, because we needed your help, and we assumed that you wouldn’t hide anything that could potentially put lives at risk. After today’s events, we can no longer make those kind of assumptions. You _will_ tell us what you know about this titan, and you _will not_ leave anything out.”

It’s a battle of wills. Zoe watches Mikasa stare blankly at her superiors, as calm as she has ever been. Armin, on the other hand, is beginning to look a little uncomfortable, shifting almost imperceptibly in his chair, but his jaw is clenched tight, his shoulders set in a determined line. Zoe racks her brain for a second, tries to see events from their point of view, and figure out what arguments could be made to persuade them that divulging this information is in everyone’s best interests. She considers what they have said so far, what she knows of them and of Jaeger from the various reports that cover every available surface in both her office and her private quarters.

When it hits her, she almost grins, almost kicks herself and gives it away. Instead, she heaves a heavy sigh.

Levi and Erwin both turn to her – Erwin adopts a questioning look, and Levi’s scowl lightens just enough to tell her that he is also curious. She taps her right leg twice, a subtle thing, a nervous twitch, perhaps, in light of what she is about to say.

_Play along._

“Then there’s no choice,” she says, voice soft and sad. “And I was just getting so attached.” Armin and Mikasa exchange an anxious glance. Armin bites his lip. Mikasa’s hand curls into a loose fist. Levi watches, his mouth pressed into a thin line, unsure of where she’s going with this but willing to stand back and trust her for now. Erwin’s eyes take on a slight gleam and he folds his hands together, elbows resting on the table to stare at Mikasa and Armin.

“Jaeger will have to be turned over to the Military Police,” Erwin says, his shoulders slumped. Levi gives no outward reaction, but Zoe has known him long enough to know that realisation has just hit him like a sack of bricks. Their manipulation isn’t subtle, and she has no doubt that Armin has seen through it already, but she trusts in her first impressions of these two, and their interactions with Jaeger. Obvious or not, crude or not, she knows that this will be effective, and she is delighted to see that she is very quickly proven correct.

Mikasa stands so abruptly that her chair crashes to the ground, hands already moving to her blades, and Zoe is suddenly, acutely aware that this young woman will happily fight the three of them to the death if it means she has even a chance of protecting Jaeger.

The thought of a fifteen metre titan needing a fifteen year old recruit to protect it should be laughable, but somehow it really, really isn’t.

Before she has a chance to do anything truly inadvisable, Armin grabs her hand and pulls her back – she glances back for a mere second, but whatever she sees in his face and his eyes is enough to, if not relax her, then at least give her pause. Armin’s eyes are shrewd as he stares at Erwin across the table.

“Unless we tell you what you want to know, of course,” he says flatly. Erwin dips his head faintly.

“Our ownership, if you like, of Jaeger is completely dependent on our ability to contain him. As he demonstrated earlier, he is capable of losing control of himself when in near proximity to humans, and as it stands, we have no logical explanation. Something like that will have to be included in our reports to the Inner City, and unless we can provide a reasonable excuse for his behaviour, or indeed, find a way to ensure that this doesn’t happen again, custody of him will have to be turned over to the Military Police.” He holds up a hand when it looks as though Mikasa is ready to interrupt. Even so, Zoe gets the feeling that it is Armin’s cautionary shake of the head that keeps her silent for now.

“At the moment, we have no guarantees. We don’t know what triggered his response. We understand that you don’t believe he would hurt anyone, and perhaps he wouldn’t willingly, but how can we say for certain that if this were to happen again, we might not be as lucky? That someone might be standing a bit too close, and Jaeger wouldn’t notice them until it was too late? Until we understand the full situation, there’s nothing that we can do.”

Mikasa scowls, but when Armin tugs gently at her hand, she picks up her chair and sits back down. Armin twines his fingers together and rests them in his lap.

“What do you need to know?” He asks.

“Do you know what triggered Jaeger’s reaction?” Erwin asks, his tone brooking no nonsense. Mikasa ignores it completely.

“Yes,” she says and does not elaborate.

Armin watches her for a few moments before apparently realising that that is all she is willing to say on the subject. He sighs shortly, glancing around the room. Levi’s steely expression hasn’t moved a fraction of an inch, but Erwin at least looks encouraging. Quite frankly, Zoe isn’t entirely sure what her face must look like at this point, but she doubts that it is reassuring.

“It was the name,” Armin says at length, eyes flicking down and then back up, meeting Erwin’s gaze head on. “When Squad Leader Hanji called out the name ‘Jaeger’, he reacted because he recognised it.”

“But we’d never used it before in front of him, so how could he –” Zoe begins, before the reality hits her, and she has to focus on keeping her knees from buckling because everything is starting to make a sort of strange, twisted sense, all of the little puzzle pieces that she’s gathered since this mission began coming together and making something other than a mess. She swears aloud; it’s enough to make Levi jolt in surprise, and Erwin’s mouth hangs open. She’s not entirely sure that either of them have ever heard her swear.

“Dr. Jaeger knew, all of this time? He knew about this, and he never thought that it – except he did, only – he honestly thought that people would – I just – shit!”

Despite her sudden onslaught of incoherency, Armin seems to understand what she’s trying to say.

“From what he told us, Dr. Jaeger first encountered, er, Jaeger, fifteen years ago,” he says. “He’d been visiting some patients, back when the plague first starting showing itself, and he’d travelled through one of the giant forests within Wall Maria on his way home. That first time, he said, he’d thought that he was hallucinating, but even so, he’d never run so fast in his life.” Armin pauses, a small smile tugging at his mouth. “By the time he got back to Shinganshina, he’d convinced himself that it was a figment of his imagination, because there was no way that a titan could get inside the walls.

“But then it happened again and again and again, and he couldn’t keep passing it off as a trick of the light or whatever. But he also figured that if there really was a titan wandering around inside Wall Maria, then there would’ve been reports of villages being attacked, people being eaten, and there was nothing.”

Zoe frowns to herself. At the time Armin is describing, Dr. Jaeger was still very much unknown in the medical and scientific communities. It wasn’t until later, when he began publishing his theories on titans, on their regenerative abilities and the implications thereof, on the possibility of there being non-aggressive titans that people had really started to sit up and take notice. And when he started ‘miraculously’ healing people of the plague, well…

A sick, fascinated feeling starts to build low in her gut.

“He said that it took him a while to gain Jaeger’s trust,” Armin says, voice fading a little as he gets caught up in his memories. “But he kept going back, so it’s not surprising that after so many years Jaeger would have learned to recognise his name. He said that he reintroduced himself every time he went back, since he wasn’t sure just how intelligent Jaeger was – is.”

By now, Armin has their rapt attention, but he doesn’t seem quite sure of what to say next. His mouth opens and closes a couple of times, and he gives himself a minute to steady himself. They all wait in silence for his next words.

“I met Jaeger when I was seven. When I was little, I had wanted to go outside of the Walls, and see the world. Titans weren’t quite real to me then, so I never even really considered their existence a problem to me. My family used to joke about it, but after my parents died, my grandfather sort of… closed off. Told me that I wasn’t to talk of the outside world, that I should get to live out a happy life in Shinganshina and be grateful for it or something.” Armin starts trembling; Zoe reaches out one hand to him, to comfort him before she realises that he is shaking, not with sorrow but with anger.

“So a lot of days, he passed me off to Dr. Jaeger, in the hopes that I would learn a thing or two and develop a passion for being a doctor. It didn’t work, but he used to take me to some of the villages inside Wall Maria sometimes when he was visiting patients.

“I was a small kid, and an outsider, so I was the perfect target for the village bullies, and Dr. Jaeger couldn’t be there to keep an eye on me all of the time. Once, I had taken one of his medical books to the forest nearby, because I thought that no-one would follow me there, and I could just spend the afternoon reading.” He gives a small, wry smile. “I hadn’t realised that the boys from the village had followed me. I ended up with a bloody nose and a chest that was more bruises than skin, so I sat for a while, forgot about my book and tried not to cry.”

“And then Jaeger showed up.” He catches sight of Zoe’s face and hurries to explain himself. “Don’t get me wrong, he didn’t _do_ anything. He just kind of… sat with me for a while.”

“And did you see him again after that?” Erwin asks, his voice softly curious.

“Not until the colossal titan came,” Armin admits. For a half-second it looks as though he is about to cry before some larger part of him thinks better of it. “I don’t know whether he came from outside the Wall or in it, but when the titans first started swarming in, Mikasa and I ran back to her house, to make sure that Carla – that is, Mrs Jaeger – was,” he cuts himself off suddenly, voice cracking a little. It is clear that whatever he may have thought of Grisha Jaeger, Armin had fond memories of his wife. He struggles on. “We wanted to make sure that she was okay, but when we got there she was already –”

Zoe can imagine perfectly well. She starts to say that it’s alright, that if it’s too difficult for him then he doesn’t have to continue, but Mikasa speaks before she has the chance, and all of a sudden she is enthralled again.

“Jaeger watched her get eaten,” she says, voice impassive, as though this had no impact on her life whatsoever. Armin flinches and reaches out to her; the only sign that she is affected is that she does not rebuke his comfort, but rather turns her hand so that they can clasp palms. “And he went berserk. Started killing titans left right and centre.” Neither of them mention how they got out, but Zoe decides that this is neither the time nor the place for that.

“Why?” Levi asks curtly – in all this time, he’s barely moved a muscle, something that is hard for Zoe to grasp currently. She can hardly keep still in the face of all of this new information.

“She went to visit him a couple of times with Dr. Jaeger, and ran away screaming the first time,” Mikasa says, lips tilting the smallest amount. “So before she went back again, she made him this scarf to apologise – she tied it around his wrist, because it was the only way she could think to attach it to him. And then, when I was nine years old and he saved my life, he gave it to me. It was how Dr. Jaeger knew that I’d seen him when he found me.”

“Saved your life?” Erwin asks gently, glancing at Zoe to see if she’s had the same thought that he has; she reckons so. All of the reports of the incident had claimed amnesia, and with no witnesses to back anything up…

“You probably know that my parents were murdered and I was kidnapped,” she says, with only the faintest hint of a strain showing in her voice. “I lived in a different forest to the one that Jaeger usually stayed near, but Dr. Jaeger had been coming to see us, and I think he’d found a way to convince Jaeger to stay nearby for the time-being. So he saw me being carried away by these men, and he stepped in. He crushed two, and I stabbed the third with the knife that one of the others had dropped when he was trying to run and beg for his life at the same time. He killed two men in cold blood, ate neither of them, and before he left, gave me his scarf.”

Her voice is more suited to a topic such as the weather, but Zoe can imagine the scene in breathless, vivid detail. Jaeger must have been glorious and terrifying all at once – an avenging angel of sorts, though the thought is almost enough to make her laugh out loud. She almost can’t associate such a fierce titan with the being that she had been sneakily scratching under the chin for the better part of twenty minutes earlier that day.

“Dr. Jaeger hid the bodies, told me not to tell anyone what I had seen, that it was to be our secret. I didn’t care about him asking me to keep it quiet, but I didn’t want anyone else to know about Jaeger, so I agreed. I didn’t see him again after that until Shinganshina.”

After his time spent silently listening to his friend speak, Armin pipes up again.

“We thought that he recognised us at Trost, but we couldn’t be sure,” he admits. “And then when we captured him he responded so positively to us that we were sure he must do.”

Erwin has buried his face in his hands by this point, and he looks drained of all of his vitality. He opens his mouth to try to speak only for no noise to emerge, and he shuts it again after a couple of seconds. Zoe steps forward but he shakes his head at her, indicating that he just needs a minute to absorb all of this. Actually, Zoe thinks to herself, looking around, all three of them seem to be taking this absolutely life-changing story rather well.

“And what do you propose we do now?” He asks wearily. “Dr. Jaeger’s been missing for almost five years, so you can’t really expect us –”

“We expect you to listen to us, sir,” Mikasa says a touch sharply. “Because Armin has already formulated the outline of a plan. Sir.” The last ‘sir’ is tacked on like an afterthought, a casual punch to the gut. Zoe leans forwards, a smile beginning to set up permanent camp on her face. She’d heard of Armin’s legendary on-the-fly plans, and she couldn’t wait to hear this one.

“We have to get him back to Shinganshina.”

_What?_


	9. Chapter 7 - Erwin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A restless night and a surprise. Erwin hates having guests.

Most of that night Erwin spends restlessly pacing from one side of his office to the other. It is exactly seven steps, then turn. Seven steps, turn. He is trying to force his mind to process exactly what he’d been told in the past couple of hours, but somehow he just can’t bring himself to make sense of it.

“Would you quit that? You’re making me dizzy,” Levi complains from the sofa in the corner of the room. Hanji sits next to him, scrawling furiously on sheets of paper that she produces from who-knows-where, only to thoughtlessly toss to one side once she has covered it with her scribblings. Levi’s eye twitches a little every time she does, but he wisely keeps quiet about it – sometimes a piece of paper will wind up on his lap, and he will fold it and place it next to her with a look of distaste, yet he still says nothing. At times like this, it is best not to interrupt her. Already, she has amassed a small nest-like pile of discarded notes and observations, theories and questions to be answered at a later date.

Erwin pauses in the middle of the room and turns to face them both. “Were they telling the truth, do you think?”

“Yes,” Levi says, and yawns. He does not look to be inclined to say anything more on the subject, his brow furrowed slightly as he leans back and rests his head on the back of the sofa to stare at the ceiling. Hanji, despite being distracted by her note-making, pauses very briefly to look up and nod feverishly at him – or at least, in his general direction, since her eyes never quite managed to focus on him.

“Everything they’ve told us matches up, and it fills in quite a few blanks at that,” she says, already turning her attention back to her notes. “It makes me wonder why no-one ever noticed anything amiss before; or if they did, why they never reported anything.”

Erwin rubs his brow, trying to smooth away the tension headache that he can feel building behind his eyes. “There could be all sorts of reasons for that, assuming that someone did notice something. All of the reports said that Jaeger could climb the Walls with relative ease – there’s a good chance that he spent a lot of time outside of the Walls over the past hundred years, killing titans. It would at least explain why the only reported sightings of him we have are fairly recent.”

Hanji only hums, and Levi doesn’t bother responding at all, fingers tapping out an idle beat against his leg.

They continue this pattern for another few hours, with Erwin pacing back and forth and asking the odd question or two, Levi complaining about it lazily but otherwise keeping quiet and Hanji somehow accumulating more and more paper around her. It isn’t until the dawn light starts creeping through his window, tinting the walls a faint pink that Erwin realises they’ve been up all of the night and still haven’t really gotten anywhere. At least, he and Levi haven’t; he has no idea what Hanji’s been churning out. He takes a deep breath.

“It’s probably best that you both try to get some rest for now, before the rest of the Legion starts waking up,” he says gently. “I’m sure that your Squad can manage without you for a couple of hours.”

Levi nods shortly, standing and sweeping from the room, a thoughtful look on his face. For a moment, it looks like Hanji hasn’t even heard him, but she eventually glances up at him from over the tops of her glasses. When she sees that he is serious she exhales noisily, running a hand through her hair and standing. She takes a moment to look around herself in dismay – Erwin thinks that she probably wasn’t aware of just how much she had written up until that very moment.

“Right, rest, right,” she says quickly, trying to gather the untidy stacks of paper into her arms without dropping any on the floor and failing miserably. “I’ll um, I’ll get back to my room then.”

She bobs her head at him and all but flees the room; he sighs and finally collapses onto the sofa that has now been vacated, shutting his eyes and allowing his muscles to go lax. It’s been a very long time since something managed to get him this tense. After all, he can’t even draw on his previous experiences in a situation like this. He is adrift in completely uncharted waters, with only on oar, a sail full of holes and a boat that has just started leaking. Or something to that effect, at least.

He doesn’t realise that he has fallen asleep until the sound of urgent knocking at his door almost sends him tumbling from the sofa as he awakes with a jolt. The knock sounds again, and he stands, smoothing down his uniform, running a hand over his face as he tries to drag himself back to full consciousness.

Rather than call out to the person at the other side of the door, he moves to open it himself, standing back in surprise when he sees Petra’s face, usually so cheerful, drawn downwards into serious lines. He braces himself.

“You are needed in the courtyard, Commander,” she says quickly, head tilted back to meet his eyes. “The lookouts reported seeing a small group of horses heading this way, flying the banners of the Military Police and Stationary Guards, sir. We don’t yet know anything further about the situation.” Erwin swears softly, hurrying from the room with Petra close at his heels.

“Has the Captain been informed? And Hanji?” He asks her, dodging out of the way of one of the new recruits – Braun, he thinks – when it looks like the boy hasn’t noticed his presence.

“One of the members of Hanji’s Squad has been sent to inform her,” Petra replies without missing a beat, somehow managing to keep pace with him without breaking into a jog despite the marked difference in their heights. “We sent Auruo to wake Captain Levi.” He can’t help it – that is almost enough to make him pause.

“ _Auruo_?” He asks incredulously. “Are you sure that’s wise, given how the Captain can be when he first wakes up?”

“Probably not,” she giggles, tone implying that it really doesn’t much matter to her. “But the Captain will be in a bad mood no matter who wakes him, and besides, we drew straws.” Erwin shakes his head and strides on, reflecting that this is the second time in as many days that he’s had to hurry to the courtyard to possibly avert an emergency. Certainly he’s used to unexpected turns of events whilst out in the field, but he never expected anything like this when at HQ.

Hanji is already out in the courtyard by the time he arrives, her clothes a rumpled mess, strands of hair sticking out every which way. Her eyes glint dangerously, and a wicked smile curls her mouth when she sees Erwin.

“If they think for even a second that I’ll let them put their filthy paws all over my Jaeger, they have another thing coming,” she hisses as soon as he’s close enough, and he can tell at a glance that any sleep she did manage to get was light and restless. He’s never seen this level of mania in her before, and it frankly scares him a little. Moblit stands at her side, trying to convince her to calm down, but it’s as if she doesn’t even notice that he’s there. Maybe she doesn’t. From his place in the centre of the courtyard, Jaeger watches them with detached curiosity.

Ackerman and Arlert stand by him, talking to one another frantically – it looks as though they’re aware of the news, and neither of them seem happy about it. Not that Erwin can blame them – their admissions yesterday where supposed to prevent this exact situation. Every so often, Jaeger will glance down at them (whenever one of them raises their voice or makes a particularly emphatic remark, as far as he can tell) and curls a little smaller, hunching down over them.

The gates are open and ready for their guests, and everyone standing outside is remarkably tense. There’s still no sign of Levi, but Erwin grits his teeth and reminds himself that he no longer has to keep a constant watch on the man; he’s perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

The horses clatter through eventually, and Erwin bites down on his tongue to prevent his shocked gasp. All around the courtyard, shocked whispers start flying when the people clustered around recognise two of the figures. He has no idea what has warranted a visit from the Commanders of both the Military Police and the Stationary Guard, but whatever it is, the very thought fills him with dread.

“Commander Dawk, Commander Pixis,” he calls, at least thinking that he can make a show of being welcoming.

“Commander Smith,” Pixis returns immediately, dismounting and stretching his legs. “Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve had to spend so long in the saddle – I’d almost forgotten how it felt to have feet after the third hour.” He pauses, glances at Jaeger, smiles a little, hums and nods to himself as though a suspicion has been confirmed. “Looks like your men did a fine job there, Erwin.”

“Is it securely bound?” Dawk asks waspishly, also dismounting and glaring a touch nervously up at Jaeger, who draws back a little with an expression that is about as offended and disdainful as his features can manage. Erwin doubts that it is anything more than the titan’s reaction to Dawk’s tone of voice, but it is enough to make Pixis burst into hearty gales of laughter. A few nervous chuckles emanate from the onlookers. Dawk looks about ready to attempt to throttle Jaeger with his bare hands, no matter how useless the endeavour may be, and Erwin feels that he should step in before anyone can make the situation worse, even if it does mean telling a bit of a white lie.

“He is securely tied, yes,” Erwin says levelly. He tries to ignore the fact that behind him, Hanji is trying to drill holes in Dawk’s forehead using only the power of her mind. “Would you prefer to move this inside, or-?”

“No, no, out here is fine,” Pixis says airily, settling himself on the stone steps. The onlookers try not to stare too noticeably at him, a venture doomed to failure even before it began. Dawk throws one last disgusted look at Jaeger before following suit. Erwin can do nothing but join them on the stone steps – he tries not to flinch when Pixis whistles, a horrifically piercing sound. Jaeger shifts restlessly and Dawk stiffens, but Pixis doesn’t even seem to notice, waving a hand at the cluster of recent graduates.

The boy that comes over is the short one with shorn hair – Connie Springer, if he remembers correctly.

“Hey kid, what’s your name?” Pixis asks, his voice not unfriendly.

“Connie Springer, sir,” he says quickly, snapping to attention. He’s drawn himself up to his full height, which unfortunately seems to be about equal to Levi’s. Erwin looks away for a moment, and spots the man in question storming over. There is no sign of Auruo anywhere; Erwin can’t be sure if that’s a good thing or not. Hanji has been dragged away to a safe distance by Moblit; Ackerman and Arlert are nowhere to be seen, but he doubts that they’ll have gone far.

“Well then Springer, I don’t suppose you’d be willing to do a senior officer a favour and get some food? We’ve been riding non-stop since this morning,” Pixis says; Springer nods jerkily and hurries off in the direction of the dining hall, grabbing Braus as he goes. No doubt he’ll need her if he’s going to even think about taking food from the hall, even for the sake of a Commander.

Levi arrives seconds later, looking all for the world as though he had the best eight hours sleep of his life last night. He nods curtly to Pixis and Dawk, who greet him with varying levels of warmth in their voices, before turning slightly so that he can keep an eye on the entirety of the courtyard whilst still being an active participant in their interactions. From one of his uniform’s inner pockets, Pixis withdraws a small wineskin, uncaps it and takes a few gulps. He doesn’t offer it around.

“Well then, I suppose we’d best get started, hadn’t we?”

 *****

The first thing that Pixis does is request a complete report on the capture of the titan, which Erwin allows Levi to give, as he was present and can give a far more detailed account of events. Levi looks like he’s being forced to eat an entire lemon, but he complies nonetheless. This is the second time that Erwin has heard his account, so he allows himself to tune out just a little, watching the Squad that have been officially ordered to watch Jaeger today sit in his shadow and play cards. Jaeger looks content enough to just watch them play; he occasionally gives the strange, short huffs of steam that Erwin is coming to understand is his way of laughing.

Levi’s report is succinct, and as a result, he finishes a few minutes before Springer and Braus return with a couple of trays laden down with coffee and sandwiches. Pixis takes one and Erwin the other, mouth curling into an amused smile when the two new recruits salute the second that their hands are free. Pixis laughs almost fondly at the way Springer draws himself up in a bid to look taller.

“Don’t worry about that,” he says, eyes gleaming. “I was even shorter at your age. Some people are just late bloomers.” No-one misses the way his gaze flicks to Levi, or the way Levi’s scowl deepens further until it looks carved into his skin.

“Now then,” he says, taking a bite of his sandwich and politely waiting to swallow before trying to talk again. “I’m sure that you can guess why we’re here. Back in the court you two made some big claims, so obviously we had to come and see the result of it for ourselves, make sure that you had a handle on the situation. Those reports weren’t exaggerating when they said he was non-aggressive to humans, were they?” Erwin smiles behind his cup of coffee, pointedly not flinching when Levi suddenly reaches over his shoulder to grab at one of the other cups.

“So far, the closest he’s come is when he’s severely shocked, and even that wasn’t focused upon humans,” Erwin agrees. “As long as he’s secured, he’s more or less harmless.” He can’t bring himself to lie and claim that Jaeger is completely harmless to humans because there is no knowing what could set him off again. Ackerman and Arlert seem confident in their assessments of him, but it is better that he is honest about the situation now.

Dawk snorts and mutters something about not looking very secure to him, but Erwin chooses to ignore that for a moment. It wouldn’t do to be seen punching another officer of such high rank. Jaeger is unwittingly helping his own case, head bowed low to the ground, expression calm as he observes what seems to have devolved into a remarkably violent version of snap.

“Hm, it’s just a pity that he couldn’t have been a beautiful female titan,” Pixis says, nodding to himself – Erwin can’t tell if he’s joking or not, and going by the disgusted look on Levi’s face, he doesn’t care. “Then the situation would have been ideal.”

“Commander Pixis, I really don’t think –” Dawk starts before Pixis cuts him off effortlessly.

“You know, in all of the times I went outside the wall, I never saw anything like this – oh don’t look so surprised,” he says to Levi, who looks no such thing. “I transferred away from the Scouting Legion pretty quickly, but even so, I always wondered how much we didn’t know about titans. It’s part of the reason I refused to give the order to have him killed in Trost – I think there was still a part of me willing to sacrifice soldiers in the hope that we could finally gain an ally greater than ourselves. And it worked, so it was our victory, I suppose.”

“That it was,” Erwin agrees. “But that can’t be the only reason you’re here, surely? Anyone could’ve been sent in your place.”

“Of course they could’ve,” Pixis dismisses the statement. “I wanted to come and see this for myself. I didn’t get a good look at him during Trost. And I wanted to talk to your Squad Leader, the one in charge of experiments, to see what sort of things you’re hoping to turn up. Of course, they couldn’t send just me and my team out here, so Nile had to come with me.”

Dawk bristles at the subtle and light-hearted mockery in Pixis’ voice, but says nothing, still keeping a wary eye on Jaeger.

“If you’d like to talk to Squad Leader Hanji,” Erwin says cautiously, waving her over. She comes quickly enough, her face settled into heavy lines. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to share her work so far, and her plans for any future experiments.” This last bit he says a bit louder than strictly necessary, to make she understands that she is not to start a row over whether or not they get to keep Jaeger. Hopefully her research and any results already gathered will speak for themselves. He’s hoping that they don’t choose to challenge their custody of Jaeger – he can name at least three people that he knows will fight to the last to keep him.

“Excellent, excellent – and perhaps you can introduce us while you’re at it,” he suggests to Hanji, inclining his head in Jaeger’s direction. She seems to brighten at that, smiling at him, and holding out a hand to shake. Barely waiting to make sure that they are following her, Hanji almost skips back to Jaeger’s side. They leave the trays on the steps and hurry after her.

Jaeger has curled down into himself again, keeping his head near to the ground – something caught in the overlong clumps of hair glints, and Erwin makes a note not to tell Levi about it; the man can only just stand the ‘matted bird’s nest of rat tails’ as it is, without him knowing that there are things stuck in there as well. Erwin doesn’t know how long it would take one man to brush out a titan’s tangled hair, and frankly he has no desire to find out.

“Commander Pixis, Commander Dawk, it would be my pleasure to present to you, subject Jaeger,” she says, making the introduction seem far more grand than it truly is. Jaeger’s eyes pass over them to fix on Erwin, as though seeking reassurance. Pixis, ignoring Dawk’s squawk of protest, steps right up to Jaeger, utterly fearless, and holds out a hand that Jaeger stares at uncomprehendingly. After a few seconds, Pixis sighs, but his lips quirk good-naturedly. He steps back and away with a small shrug.

“It was a long shot,” he admits. “But I’d’ve liked to be the first person in recorded history to shake hands with a titan.”

Hanji looks thrilled at the very idea of shaking hands with a titan, and Erwin knows that he has to do something, say something – anything! – to keep the conversation on track. “What was it precisely that you had to inspect, Commanders?”

Dawk draws himself up. “Our first priority was to assess how much of a danger the titan poses to the Scouting Legion as a whole, and in particular, those charged with guarding it –”

“Minimal, I think we can all agree,” Pixis cuts in. Dawk glares a little before settling back.

“We were then to move on to seeing how much of a benefit to humanity any research conducted on it would be, but given its… unusual characteristics, I should think that _that_ would be minimal. Studying this titan isn’t likely to provide us with any useful intelligence regarding the species as a whole. A better solution would undoubtedly be dissection – learn what we can from the creature’s physical makeup and then utilise that for humanity’s interests.” Hanji’s face is growing steadily redder by the second, and even Levi looks about ready to give Nile a solid kicking, but surprisingly it is Pixis that speaks up.

“You weren’t at Trost,” he says, all signs of levity gone now from his voice. “So you didn’t see what we saw. In that battle, Jaeger took down more titans than most soldiers do in their lifetimes. He saved many of the soldiers that had been stranded on the ground that day with his presence alone, drawing the titans to him. He sealed up the breach in the Wall with absolutely no prompting, direction or instruction, and yet you dare to suggest that he would be better off, or more useful to us dead?

“This titan presents us with an utterly unique opportunity that most of us haven’t dared wish for over the past hundred years. He could very well be our best chance at regaining what humanity has lost to the titans, but you would have him put down to pulled apart and studied before being put down? Why not just open the gates and let the titans do as they please; either way, you’ll be damning all of humanity.”

Strong words indeed, but Erwin finds himself nodding along nonetheless, glad that at least one of the other military branches is willing to concede to good sense.

Hanji looks three seconds from either fainting where she stands or leaping into the Commander’s arms and declaring her undying love for him. Erwin doesn’t know which would be worse, but he knows that he doesn’t really want either scenario to come about; he doesn’t know what to say, though, doesn’t know how to diffuse the rising tension.

“Commander Smith!” Schultz comes running up to them, snapping a quick salute. “Cook says that she doesn’t care how much you have or haven’t eaten, you’ll all be going hungry if you don’t get to the dining room before the Squads, sir!”

Erwin gets the feeling that Cook – it had been to everyone’s great amusement that she had revealed her surname was in fact ‘Cook’ – had said no such things, but he grasps eagerly at the distraction with both hands, a surge of gratitude heaving through him. “Yes, of course, we’ll be right there. Commander Dawk, Commander Pixis, if you’d care to follow me?”

“Mm, just a moment,” Pixis replies, turning back to Jaeger. Green eyes fix on him, unblinking, and always shockingly intelligent. It’s possible to forget that Jaeger isn’t a regular titan until you look into his eyes. Pixis smiles up at him, eyes creasing at the corners; he reaches into his inner pocket again and withdraws his wineskin, holding it out to Jaeger, who only looks at him, uncomprehending. Like before, after offering his hand, Pixis shrugs easily. He takes a few gulps from the wineskin and wipes his mouth on the back of his hand. “I’ve repaid you in full,” he says. “Any grudge that you’re capable of holding, you can forget now. I don’t owe you anything anymore.” He smiles.

“It’s nice to know that you exist, you piece of shit,” he says.


	10. Interlude - Pixis

Dot Pixis had never considered himself the sort of person to panic and crack under pressure. He’d always assumed that, when it came down to it, he’d be the sort of person that could hold himself together in a crisis, that could force his body to move even after his mind had stuttered to a halt.

On his third venture outside of Wall Maria as part of a small Squad, he’d been forced to re-evaluate.

Not to say that he couldn’t keep himself relatively calm in stressful situations, because he could; that was never in question. However, he had discovered something about himself that day, and it was that something that would go on to shape the rest of his military career, and indeed, the rest of his life. Whilst he’d always been aware that people died fighting the titans, died in service in numerous ways, had even lost some of his fellow trainees, the concept had always been abstract to him, somehow.

He learned that day that he couldn’t watch as his comrades were killed one by one.

There had been a group of titans, something that did happen occasionally – or so he was told – but that he himself had never seen before. They had been caught out on open ground, not a tree or a building nearby, no way to fight back. He’d been informed of the standard procedure when dealing with titans on a perfectly flat terrain so far, but he’d never imagined that he would have to utilise that knowledge so soon, against so many titans, with so few allies to aid him.

It shouldn’t have come as a shock when they were picked off one by one, but somehow it did. And so he was left, shivering and crying in a pool of blood and dirt and all around him, the titans that they had managed to kill are evaporating off as though they were nothing more than water left out on a hot day, but there was still one left, and he just _couldn’t move_.

Though its footsteps must’ve echoed for miles around, Dot didn’t notice the approach of the abnormal titan until it was close enough to see from his peripheral vision.

Something inside of him sank until all he could feel was a peculiar emptiness, and the only though running through his was _this is it_. He was going to die bloody like the rest of his Squad, and though he’d always known it would happen eventually, he’d always somehow imagined that he’d have had more time to come to terms with it, to do at least some of the things that he’d always wanted to do.

But as he watched the abnormal titan throw the ten metre class to the ground, only to rip out the back of its neck with its teeth when it struggled to its feet, Dot felt that emptiness within him solidify into a rolling, sickening anger. Met the titan’s eyes briefly when it was done, tried to push himself up to standing only to find that his legs wouldn’t hold him. He screeched at it, shouting obscenities that it didn’t seem to notice, turning away from him to lope back towards the Wall. He yelled at its retreating back, asking it why it had spared him, begging it to come back and just _finish him off, dammit, please_.

It didn’t come back, and as night fell, he finally dragged himself to his feet, shaking and cold and exhausted and so, so drained. His horse was gone, and it would take several hours to make it back to the Wall on foot, so best to start at night when the titans were least active.

By the time he made it back to the Wall, he had stopped shivering – something in the back of his head whispered that that wasn’t a good thing – and he could barely see straight. Somehow, he had chanced to make it back to the gate of Shinganshina, though he would later admit that it was more by good fortune than good judgment. The Stationary Guard that found him dragged him inside and poured a little liquor down his throat while they waited for the doctor to arrive; a young man that he wouldn’t later be able to remember clearly, but wore glasses and a kind expression and talked endlessly about the woman that lived down the road that he was planning to someday marry, and the medical business he wanted to set up that would take him to see everywhere within the Walls.

In that time, when he wasn’t quite himself and was instead a nervous wreck, Dot babbled about the abnormal titan that wouldn’t kill him, much to the doctor’s confusion and fascination.

When he woke in the morning, of course, he remembered the doctor talking in soothing voices, convincing that he had seen no such thing, that he had been exhausted, traumatised, and in shock. And for a very, very long time, Dot believed him.

He joined the Stationary Guard and found it better suited to his talents, worked his way up through the ranks bit by bit until he reached a higher position than he ever could have managed with the Scouting Legion, and he convinced himself that he was content with his lot in life. It was easy, and almost pleasant, even after the attack of the colossal titan, because he could still step back and think logically, was never put in the same position as _that day_ , was never made completely and utterly powerless.

And then Trost happened and he found his carefully cultivated worldview shattered.

More than that, though, he found that he was surprisingly alright with it. Watching the abnormal titan – could it be the same? He had no way of knowing, not at such a distance – seal the hole where the gate had once stood proud, he couldn’t help but remember the furious, helpless waves of anger that had consumed him and drowned out any spark of gratitude, of hope.

He _had_ been grateful, looking back later. He hadn’t wanted to die, had sought and coveted life in the way only a man staring death in the face can truly understand, and had been granted that chance to continue his existence.

So, despite not knowing, despite having no way to be sure, he placed his faith in the abnormal titan, placed the lives of all of his soldiers and possibly every civilian as well on its shoulders and prayed. Prayed that it would give him one more miracle, one more chance, one more debt that he would have to repay. He waited, watched as it did that and more, escaping over the Wall in front of hundreds of soldiers that would wonder if they had somehow suffered a mass-hallucination, because there was no way that that could be real, right. And he smiled, because he knew better.

Smiled in the courtroom and met Zacklay’s eyes so briefly, nodding once and seeing the slight incline in response. _One down._

So now he smiles up at Jaeger, smiles up at the damn creature that saved his life, saved so many others, however unknowingly, and offers him a drink, because he has learnt in many years of military service that nothing says thank you quite like offering a man a drink. Perhaps it’s not the same for titans, but he doesn’t care.

That’s twice now he’s helped in saving Jaeger’s life. He done his part, repaid him in full. His smile widens.

“It’s nice to know that you exist, you piece of shit,” he says.


	11. Chapter 8 - Levi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night and an attack. Maybe these are the worst three days of his life.

It takes three days of subtle hint, less than subtle hints and hints that were so unsubtle that they bordered on outright threats for Dawk to finally give up trying to persuade them to hand Jaeger over to the Military Police. Though it is probably an exaggeration to say that they are the worst three days of Levi’s life, he thinks that it’s fair to rate them amongst the top ten. Every free minute has been spent holed away in one office or another trying to help Erwin strategize and plan their expedition to Shinganshina – or a test-run of it, at least.

Though those are only the free minutes, of course – all the rest are taken up with training, with helping Hanji with her ‘experiments’, which seem to get weirder and more useless by the hour, not to mention keeping an eye on their guests.

So, by the end of the three days, Levi finds himself on the brink of collapse yet agitated and hyperaware, his brain trying to shut down whilst it kicks into overdrive. It’s a feeling that he’s not unaccustomed to – he hates it with every fibre of his being. He wants nothing more than to be able to shut his eyes and finally rest, but he can’t seem to switch his mind off for long enough. The castle is cold, its stone walls retaining no heat, and outside the wind is biting.

He hunches down into himself and walks faster, wondering if there are any spare blankets in the linen closet down the corridor from his room. It’s worth looking, he decides eventually, if only for the fact that he can at least be sure they’ll be clean. Only a little way to go now – he can’t light the fire in his room, or so he’s been told, until he can be completely sure that the chimney has been cleared of any moss, dirt, or whatever-the-fuck-else end up in chimneys that have been abandoned for years on end. He scowls and curses Mike for pointing it out. At this point he’s debating whether it would be better to just light the damn thing anyway and be done with it. Death by smoke inhalation is starting to sound awfully appealing.

First, it’s the low murmur of voices that catches his attention. Then, the laughter, accompanied by the sound of Jaeger’s huffed ‘chuckles’ – Levi has Erwin to thank for pointing that one out, and Hanji hasn’t been able to stop obsessing over it since, going to great lengths in her attempts to make the titan laugh. It’s enough to drive a man to drink, except Pixis and a couple of the Military Police seem to have claimed any and all of the alcohol that had been found in the cellars, which wasn’t much to begin with.

“Captain!” He hears, and it takes him a little while to identify the voice as belonging to Gunther, and even longer to pinpoint its origin. He squints.

There is a reason that his entire Squad is huddled in the cradle of Jaeger’s arms where he rests them on the ground, Levi is sure. Probably a very good reason, at that. Despite himself, though, Levi just can’t summon up the energy to properly think the situation through, and so he storms over to them, folds his arms, raises a brow and enquires, very calmly:

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“We’re on watch tonight,” Petra says, as though that explains everything. “And, well, it was so cold, and even the fire wasn’t doing much to keep us warm, so we thought that, since Jaeger’s right here and we’re meant to be watching him anyway, that we’d just –”

The look on Levi’s face is enough to keep them all quiet for a brief, blissful moment before Gunther pipes up with, “Well, it is easier, isn’t it sir?”

By now, Jaeger has glanced up from the people gathered in his arms – to him, they must seem insignificant at best, and the very fact that he doesn’t crush them by mistake is testimony to his understanding of humans and their physical limits. Instead, his hot breath fans over them, ruffling everyone’s hair as they relax almost in unison. Maybe there is some merit to their idea after all. If nothing else, it could prove useful on the trip to Shinganshina; not only would he be able to keep large numbers of the Legion warm at one time, but they’d also be nearby in case of an emergency. Well, Levi acknowledges, it is likely that Jaeger would be able to detect an incoming titan long before they could.

For a moment, Levi amuses himself with the image of the entire Scouting Legion pitching camp on Jaeger’s back while the titan rests on his stomach before he shakes it away and curses his sleepless nights.

Green eyes meet his, that spark of distinctly un-titan-like intelligence as evident as ever. Levi scowls and then sighs.

“Move up, shitstains,” he says, no small amount of fondness colouring his tone. His Squad must hear it, because they exchange grins and smirks as though he can’t see them under the bright moon with lanterns scattered around their impromptu campsite. They’ve even gone so far as to spread blankets over the cobbles, he notes a little belatedly, presumably to make their night-long watch more comfortable. They should be taking it in shifts, but it’s still early enough that the first shift hasn’t truly started yet, and so some of them are just starting to settle in for a few hours’ sleep.

Levi sits resting in the crook of Jaeger’s elbow with his head tipped back against feverish skin – Jaeger doesn’t seem to mind, if he even notices Levi’s slight weight in the first place. Protected from the wind like this, Levi has to admit that he’s a far sight warmer than he would’ve been back in his room, even if he’s less comfortable. But then, he’s slept in far worse conditions than this, and surrounded by his Squad, he could almost say that he finds the situation somewhat pleasant.

“Hey, Captain,” Erd says softly. “Is it true that we’ll be heading to Shinganshina?”

All thoughts of sleep fleeing his mind, Levi blinks slowly, noticing that the rest of the Squad are all now watching him carefully, waiting for his answer. He sighs, and thumps his head back against Jaeger’s arm softly. The titan eyes him as though he is the one that has lost his mind.

“Most likely, once a plan can be devised,” he says, not wanting to lie to these people. “Ackerman and Arlert seem to think that we’ll be able to find important information there, about Jaeger and the rest of the titans, and fuck knows what else. Hanji and the Commander agree with them, or at least agree that it’s worth a try, so that’s what we’ll be doing. Why; is that a problem?” It’s a dare – of course it’s a problem, and they all know it. Travelling that far outside of Wall Rose is essentially a suicide mission, even with Jaeger in tow. Levi just wants to know if they’ll say any of this to him in person.

“Apart from the fact that we’ll all die bloody?” Auruo asks. “No, not at all.”

Levi nods. “I’ll be sure to give the Commander your feedback,” he says flatly and takes quiet pleasure in watching as Auruo panics, his face flushing a blotchy red in the lamplight. Jaeger huffs his strange laugh, careful to make sure that none of them are enveloped in steam – Petra explains that she had shouted at him for it earlier, on the basis that damp clothes and skin would just chill them even more. Not that it makes much of a difference when wrapped in a titan’s arms like this, but Levi doesn’t bother mentioning it. Petra seems absurdly fond of the creature, and Levi would be lying if he said that it didn’t occasionally amuse and intrigue him.

Like this, quiet and as close to content as he can manage in the arms of a fifteen-metre abnormal titan, it occurs to Levi that the five people and one titan gathered here are thought to be the most dangerous being currently known to humanity. It is a strange thought, somehow, one that doesn’t bear thinking about, and so he puts it from his mind, draws a blanket around himself and falls into a deeper sleep than he’s managed in weeks.

 *****

Morning comes before the first light of daybreak in the form of a pained screech tearing through his body. Levi’s eyes snap open immediately and he rolls just in time as Jaeger’s arm flails far too close for comfort, hitting the ground with a force that almost knocks Levi off of his feet. Steam pours forth from his writhing form, and he seems utterly unaware of his surroundings, presumably blinded by pain or rage. Running a few steps closer to the titan, Levi yells wordlessly up at him, trying to catch his attention; enraged green eyes meet his, and Levi receives barely enough warning before a fist crashes down in the spot that he had occupied mere moments before.

As soon as Levi moves out of his sight, Jaeger loses all interest in him, twisting in his bonds and roaring loud enough to wake the dead. Steam hisses from numerous wounds, some deep others more superficial – Levi wonders how he managed to sleep through this. What were his Squad doing, since they clearly haven’t done a very good job of guarding Jaeger?

“What the fuck happened?” He yells as soon as he spots Petra, who is checking each of the steel cables, making sure that they’re still winched in tight.

“He was attacked suddenly from behind – I think whoever it was was trying to kill him, but they didn’t manage to cut deep enough,” she calls back, brisk and efficient as she ever is in a crisis. “Erd and Gunther have given chase, but they had a head start, and I think they were using 3DMG, so there’s no guarantee that they’ll be caught.”

There aren’t words bad enough to truly describe this situation, but Levi gives it a good go nonetheless, a steady stream of curses falling from his mouth as he contemplates how best to deal with this. Jaeger is regenerating, if a bit slower than he would like, but he won’t shut up; by now, the entire castle must have heard him. Jaeger’s violence, his anger isn’t directed at humans, even now after they have attacked him, but Levi knows that they’ll have a difficult time convincing anyone unfamiliar with him of that.

“Brat! Hey, brat!” Levi calls, hoping to distract Jaeger from his aimless writhing. He thinks he hears Petra protesting that he can’t call a titan ‘brat’ of all things, but he ignores her for now.

Jaeger’s fists land within two metres of where he stands, but Levi can see the awareness returning to him as he regains control over himself. It’s not enough to prevent him from bellowing in Levi’s face, but given that he has not yet crushed him, Levi can forgive a multitude of sins.

“You’re healing already, so quit being so dramatic,” he calls, keeping Jaeger’s focus on him. He notes the trembling in the titan’s frame, the grunts of pain that fall from the lipless mouth, and can’t help but feel some measure of sympathy – it is still unknown whether titans are able to feel pain in the same way as humans, but it is quite clear now that Jaeger can feel it to some degree. “I’ve seen you get hit worse than this, so what’s the big deal, right?”

Jaeger hisses steam, bowing his head, something in his hair catching at the flickering lamplights; Levi grits his teeth and ignores it for now. It isn’t the time to be worrying about a titan’s hygiene.

“Captain!” Calls a voice that Levi quickly identifies as Dawk, and he swears a blue streak at the man’s appalling timing. “Just what is going on?” He sounds furious and terrified in equal measures, and were Levi not so focused on keeping Jaeger from going berserk, he might have turned around so that he might fully enjoy the show. As it is, he stands his ground and allows his Squad to explain the situation for him, all the while wishing that he had the instincts of Ackerman or Arlert when it came to dealing with Jaeger. He has no idea if his next move will be his last, doesn’t know what’s likely to set the titan off and what will calm him down; Dawk’s presence isn’t helping matters, and he can feel the courtyard filling with curious onlookers every second.

Levi can pinpoint the exact moment that Hanji arrives by the agonised cry that echoes around the courtyard, shrieking her horror aloud and asking how anyone could do this. In Levi’s opinion that should be quite obvious, but then, what does he know?

They remain like that for a time, Levi insulting Jaeger while the titan watches quietly, until a flash of red catches his gaze and those unsettling green eyes at last turn away. Ackerman and Arlert have somehow managed to shove their way to the front of the crowd and they move to Jaeger, talking in low voices. Jaeger’s shaking has at last stopped, and it seems that the majority of his wounds have fully healed now, with the exception being the back of his neck. He had a very narrow escape, in Levi’s opinion; a centimetre or two deeper, and Jaeger would be a steaming carcass by now.

Feeling that he has done his part, Levi turns away, only to meet the equally-unsettling stares of the three Commanders – for a moment he almost turns back to Jaeger. At least Jaeger can’t speak.

“Why would anyone defy direct orders like this?” Dawk asks, rubbing his forehead. It looks as though he doesn’t know what to think anymore; they have only just managed to convince him that keeping Jaeger alive and with the Scouting Legion is by far the best option, and so now it seems that he is confused as to why anyone would disagree with that evaluation. People like him make Levi’s teeth ache.

“I’m sure you can guess why,” he says rather than kicking the man in the face, or the stomach, or some other suitably squishy area. “Weren’t you all for having him dissected a few days ago?” Dawk scowls at the reminder.

Levi is sure that whoever did this is not a member of the Scouting Legion – they’ve had plenty of chances before now had they wanted to try something like this, when Jaeger was less heavily guarded and the Legion as a whole was a touch more complacent. And more importantly, a member of the Scouting Legion would not have missed the weak spot of a mostly-immobilised titan that wasn’t making an attempt to fight back. That means that whoever did this is a member of either the Military Police or the Stationary Guard, and Levi is beginning to wonder if they were defying orders at all, or following them. A quick glance at Erwin tells him that the Commander is thinking the same thing – if ever there were a time to get across the Wall and fast, this is it.

Their plans are still shaky at best, but if the Military Police (Levi will continue to believe that it was them until evidence to the contrary is found) is willing to go to such lengths, then they don’t have much of a choice.

“Commanders, I’m sorry, but in the interest of yourselves and your teams, I’m going to have to ask you to return to the Inner City,” Erwin says, his face and voice combining to make the very picture of tormented and apologetic. “The Scouting Legion is already scheduled to venture outside the Wall in a couple of days’ time – we had planned on postponing it due to your visit, but as you can see, we can’t afford to put it off. Let me assure you that this incident will receive a thorough investigation, and the crime will not go unpunished.”

Dawk nods stiffly, unease clear in the tense line of his shoulders (gotcha, Levi thinks to himself) and draws himself up. “See to it that it doesn’t. Leonhart!” He calls, gesturing to a short blonde girl that had to have been a member of the hundred and fourth – she had been standing beside two of the new recruits, frowning at them as they conversed in hurried whispers.

“Sir?” She asks, her voice devoid of curiosity.

“Inform the members of the team that we will be leaving tomorrow – or rather, later today,” he snaps. She watches him impassively, waiting to see if he will say more; when he doesn’t, she nods, salutes and strides away.

Pixis, who had watched the entire scene in silence, rubs a hand over his face and sighs. He looks angry – which, for Pixis, involves a slight furrowing of the brow and a downward curve of the mouth. It’s difficult to tell who he is angry at, or even if his anger is directed specifically at any one person or group, but he eventually nods and manages to smile at Erwin.

“I understand, of course, and we’ll be out of your hair soon enough,” he says lightly. “I hope you don’t mind my warning you what a bad idea this excursion of yours no doubt is?” Erwin chuckles drily.

“Believe me, you don’t need to,” he says. “But we don’t have much of a choice – this is our best shot at obtaining valuable information, as well as a chance for us to use Jaeger in the field and finally make a significant dent in the titans’ numbers. Bad idea or no, it’s still the best we’ve got.”

“Right, right,” Pixis agrees. “Just don’t let that great lug of yours die out there. I’d hate to have that on my conscience.”


	12. Chapter 9 - Armin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip and an ambush. This is a trial by fire if ever there were one.

Armin’s stomach flutters nervously as his horse shifts her weight, impatient and restless. Only a few weeks of training, and already he is preparing himself for his second excursion beyond the Wall – he can see how afraid his fellows are, the trainees that have never been beyond the safety offered by the Walls, but they wait resolute. Jaeger stands tall above them, no more comfortable now than he had been when first travelling through Karanese.

Just to his left, Mikasa stares ahead, her jaw set and eyes narrowed. Since the attempt on Jaeger’s life she’s been tense, wound tighter than a coiled spring, and all Armin can say is that he doesn’t want to be on the receiving end when that tension is finally released. He knows that she is eager to put her skills to good use, to feel her blades sink deep into titan flesh, but the entirety of the Scouting Legion’s formation and tactics is aimed at avoiding titans altogether. The flares in his saddlebag jostle against his thigh as his horse – Tiamat, he had named her – reminding him of the procedure that has been followed for years, decades even. The procedure that results in a thirty per cent loss of life with every major excursion beyond the Walls, and yet is still more effective than any other previously devised. Armin can only hope that Jaeger’s presence will do something to change that.

As soon as the Scouting Legion splits off into its formation, Armin will be forced to leave Mikasa and Jaeger, he knows, and a heavy knot twists itself around in his stomach at the thought of riding out into the titan-infested lands without them.

When the gate is lifted, Jaeger is allowed to pass through first; it is both practical and a great display of trust in the fact that he won’t simply go running onto the plains searching for a titan to battle. It is strange to think that even after everything he has done for them, every time he’s played along with the foolish little humans and their whims, Jaeger still isn’t trusted not to turn on them and start behaving like a true titan. To Armin, who has already fought beside him, encountered him both on and off the battlefield, inside and outside the Walls, such a thing is near-incomprehensible.

Then again, he can understand it to a point. There is no precedent for a situation like this, and he has to remember that while he has lived a short life, there are many that have lived for decades within the Walls, in fear of the titans. People whose experiences with the titans have not necessarily shaped and warped the rest of their lives, but only added an aftertaste of terror.

Armin has to frequently remind himself, looking around at the grinning faces, even as he spurs Tiamat forwards, that many of these people would have been perfectly content to live out their lives within the Walls, never even wondering about the outside world and all of its potential, were it not for the colossal titan.

For a little while, the Scouting Legion rides en masse, and it isn’t until Commander Smith gives the signal that they break away into smaller groups of threes and fours; for most of the new recruits, this will be their first time out in a land that is held primarily by titans. When discussing his plans with Mikasa and Armin, Commander Smith had referred to this as a test run – a way of seeing how Jaeger copes out in the open with the tactics of the Scouting Legion, to see how they manage as a group. Jaeger has been placed with the Special Ops Squad; something that is meant to be kept a secret, though given Jaeger’s size, Armin isn’t sure that it will remain so for very long.

Armin breaks away with Jean and Reiner thundering alongside him, and it isn’t long before the rest of the Scouting Legion is more or less out of sight. Every so often he’ll catch a glimpse of one of the closer groups, and Jaeger can be seen in the distance still, but they are very well spread out; the theory being, of course, that smaller groups of humans are less likely to draw in large numbers of titans.

A red flare goes up after less than twenty minutes, with the green following shortly after. Armin wheels Tiamat around to the left, following the pattern that he had been so careful to memorise. With any luck, their formation will be mostly successful; or if not, the Commander and/or Captain will see fit to turn Jaeger loose on the titans.

For a time they ride on uninterrupted – Armin settles himself into Tiamat’s rhythm, and despite having little natural affinity for horse riding, finds that it is surprisingly pleasant. He doubts that he will be able to say the same after riding all through the day (his body trembles at the memory of riding out to find Jaeger in the first place, and he prays that he will not suffer so much this time around) but for now he feels something close to contentment.

The first day does not go well, precisely – an abnormal titan manages to break through the ranks, heading straight for Jaeger, but it is taken down eventually with minimal losses. Given what Armin has heard about the mortality rate of the Scouting Legion, he supposes that this can be counted as a success. The thought turns his stomach.

Nevertheless, he forces himself to eat when Mikasa turns too-knowing eyes on him, her face gentle with understanding; to him, at least. She has long since trained herself to be skilled in the art of hiding her emotions when it suits her, but then, he has long since trained himself in the art of reading the subtle nuances that give her away. To any other, she looks distant, reserved, perhaps even uncaring; to Armin, she looks sad and even a little afraid. Neither of them have any idea as to whether this madcap scheme of theirs will work – there is no guarantee that even this test-run will be successful, much less the final venture to Shinganshina.

They have taken refuge in a long-abandoned village. Jaeger remains on the outskirts initially, as none of the streets are wide enough to comfortably hold him, but eventually he is guided forward by the Special Ops Squad to the square at the village centre. There he is able to kneel and even lie down, his enormous frame curled around the dry fountain in the middle of the Square. He is not restrained, to Armin’s great surprise, but he stays more or less still. Despite the phenomenal amount of trust that he has in Jaeger, Armin isn’t sure that it’s the wisest course of action – although generally less active, Hanji’s experiments have shown that Jaeger is perfectly capable of functioning throughout the night, leaving the Scouting Legion in a very difficult position. Should Jaeger choose to wander off in search of titans weakened by the lack of daylight, there isn’t much that they can do to stop him short of killing him. Something that, Armin is sure, no-one in the Scouting Legion is overly willing to do.

Which is why he is merely afraid and disappointed rather than shocked when he wakes to find no sign of Jaeger or the Special Ops Squad.

 *****

The first thing he does is wake Mikasa, who is alert and aware in seconds, hands moving to the 3DMG that she hadn’t bothered removing overnight. She doesn’t ask him what’s wrong, nor does she need to – a cursory glance around their makeshift camp tells her all that she needs to know, and almost faster than Armin can process, she is swinging herself up to the rooftops to gain a better view. Armin grits his teeth and follows her up, watching for Commander Erwin; he, too, is nowhere to be seen.

Away to the East, he can just about see Jaeger, hunkered down and surrounded by soldiers. He is unmoving but as far as Armin can tell unharmed, and at the very least, none of the soldiers are attacking him. He lets out a breath and follows Mikasa as she drops back down to the street level and begins to jog towards them.

When they arrive, Jaeger is still crouched low to the ground, both of his palms pressed flat against the Earth, head tilted to one side. The Special Ops Squad, accompanied by Commander Smith and Hanji all shift restlessly.

“He’s been like this for half an hour,” Captain Levi says, not taking his eyes off of the still, silent mass before them. “And we still haven’t figured out what the fuck he’s doing.”

Armin watches Jaeger for a few moments more; beside him, Mikasa does the same though her eyes are narrowed and she watches the members of the Scouting Legion with no small amount of suspicion in her gaze. Jaeger doesn’t look up as they approach him, his head still cocked, eyes half-shut as though in concentration. His hands are almost hot enough to burn where Armin clambers over them, but still the titan does not react to his presence, seemingly lost in his own world. Behaviour like this isn’t good; Jaeger is kept around as long as he is useful, and if this proves to be a state that they can’t drag him out of, or that he is prone to entering at unpredictable times, then he may no longer be any good to the Scouting Legion.

Frowning, Armin goes down on his knees also – he ignores the nervous titters from some of the soldiers in the background and presses his hands flat to the ground, imitating Jaeger’s posture. He closes his eyes and tries to wrap his mind around the titan’s way of thinking. It is well-known that Jaeger’s primary focus, his drive, is centred around killing titans. Taking that into consideration, along with the behaviours that Armin has quietly noted during his time with the Scouting Legion, he tries to theorise what it is that has Jaeger so fascinated, leaning forward until his forehead touches the ground…

_thumpthumpthump_

Armin’s eyes fly open and he reels back with a gasp. It was so faint that he could barely feel it, so he presses himself against the ground again desperately, praying that he is wrong –

He isn’t. The ground shudders almost imperceptibly beneath them, a quick, even beat like the pumping of a heart, or distant, heavy footfalls. Breath quickening, Armin shoves himself to his feet, eyes wide and afraid. Mikasa’s face hardens at the sight – Armin turns to report his suspicions to the Commander, but by the looks of him he has already figured out what Armin is going to say. His jaw is locked tight and he shares a tense nod with Captain Levi, who swings himself up onto Jaeger’s neck to speak quickly in his ear; presumably giving orders that Jaeger can’t understand, interspersed with a healthy dose of insults that he more-or-less can.

“Petra, inform the other Squads that there’s a possible situation coming, and we need to be ready for battle,” Commander Smith says. “Take Gunther with you, and hurry. We’ll be remaining here to keep the advantage of the terrain, but there’s no telling how quickly they’ll get here; the nearest giant forest is a half-day’s ride from here, and we can’t guarantee that there’ll be any other 3DMG-suitable terrain in between. Jaeger’s already been like that for half an hour, he must have had some sort of advanced warning.”

“Dr. Jaeger always theorised that Jaeger had a better sense of hearing than humans,” Mikasa speaks up suddenly. “He can probably hear them already.” She seems agitated, twisting and untwisting her scarf around clenched fists – the Commander swears softly and drags a hand down his face. It is perhaps the first time that Armin has seen the man look truly tired. Jaeger finally seems to have snapped out of his trance-like state and rises now to his full height, leaving the Captain to make his own way back down to ground.

Yet the Captain remains perched on Jaeger’s shoulder, staring off at something that is as yet hidden from them.

The scowl on Captain Levi’s face when he returns to the ground isn’t a good sign, and Armin can feel his hands starting to shake – he hastily clasps them together before Mikasa can notice, but of course his efforts are in vain. She moves to stand closer to him, the length of their arms pressed together so that he can feel her warmth and solidarity bleeding through their uniforms.

“There’s a large group moving this way quickly – likely abnormals going by their speed,” he reports, eyes tight. Armin’s never heard of groups of abnormals moving like that before. “They’re being led, and it looks like they know we’re here.”

“Then running wouldn’t have done us any good anyway,” Commander Smith muses darkly.

Jaeger tilts his head back, as though scenting the air, his hands curled into loose fists. He doesn’t look as though he’ll turn and start running towards the threat at any moment, but Armin isn’t oblivious to the close watch that he is being kept under, even as the Special Ops Squad supposedly mill around, nerves written in the tense lines of every face that he can see. This will be Jaeger’s first true test on the battlefield, working with the Legion as a whole, after all – it is only natural that they should feel a little anxious.

Even Armin finds himself slightly nauseated, though his trust in Jaeger’s combat abilities is firm. No, he worries instead about the timing of this all; that an unheard of occurrence like this should take place so soon after an attempt was made on Jaeger’s life, the first time he ventures out of Wall Rose in the company of the Scouting Legion, well. Mikasa has always said that she does not believe in coincidences, and in this instance, Armin is inclined to agree. His head hurts as he contemplates how the events could possibly be connected, but he is distracted as a cry goes up among the soldiers gathering on the rooftops. The titans have been spotted, and even from his disadvantaged viewpoint on the flat ground, Armin can see that they are moving quickly.

Jaeger leans forward, weight shifting to the balls of his feet, but he does not yet move towards the titans. A low rumble starts somewhere deep in his throat, steaming hissing with every movement. Despite their familiarity with him, Armin and Mikasa exchange a look; they will both be keeping an eye on him in the upcoming battle, as well as keeping out of his way as much as possible. While he has the greatest control over his own body that they have ever seen in a titan, it is possible that when surrounded by such a large number of his enemy, he may lose himself.

Gritting his teeth, Armin tells himself that he will not let that happen – that no matter the consequences, should Jaeger go berserk, he and Mikasa would find a way to drag him back. He knows too that the Special Ops Squad share that view, as do Hanji and the Commander, even if the rest of the Legion would be willing to write him off. In truth, it’s hard for Armin to tell precisely how many would be willing to lay down their lives in protection of a titan, and he’s not sure that he wants to be put in a position to find out.

“Approaching; eight abnormal titans at high speed!” Commander Smith calls out, his voice ringing clear to all of the soldiers, who hold their blades in a white-knuckled grip, muscles tensed and ready. “Take down the leader if you can! Keep out of Jaeger’s way, and remember your training! We must defend humanity at all costs!”

Armin hurries up to an abandoned church roof with a hiss of gas and a whir of machinery, Mikasa close behind him. They won’t be fighting in their Squads, even if the rest of the Legion will; Jaeger is their first priority. He scans the horizon and realizes that he can see the titans plainly now – his breath catches in his throat at the sight, and he has to take a second to gather himself when the first, almost-hysterical thought to cross his mind is ‘ _we’ve found you your female titan, Commander Pixis.’_


	13. Chapter 10 - Levi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A battle and a victory. A hollow one.

Eight titans. A mere eight titans shouldn’t pose any problem to the elite Scouting Legion; they should be little more than a nuisance when the Legion has the advantage of the higher ground and the 3DMG. Even taking into consideration the fact that they are abnormals shouldn’t change that, especially when they have Jaeger fighting with them.

What they have failed to anticipate, Levi thinks bitterly, is how the presence of this female titan changes the very nature of the battle.

She is intelligent, more so than Jaeger, though he hates to admit their disadvantage – Jaeger is smart for a titan, capable of learning and using intuition, but the female titan is aware in a way that he simply is not. The abnormals focus mainly on Jaeger, which is in a way fortunate, as it leaves them vulnerable and exposed, but the female titan seems to understand this and her precise attacks and knowledge of her own weak spots makes it nearly impossible to get close enough to truly fight – and still, there are more titans arriving in twos and threes.

Mostly these can be taken care of before they get close enough to join the battle against Jaeger, but this still leaves the problem of a single titan being forced to fight eight abnormals while what remains of the Scouting Legion can do little more than watch and hope. Jaeger disposes of two of them quickly enough, however it is plain to see that being constantly attacked on all sides is taking a heavy toll on him – Levi grits his teeth and turns away, towards two more titans that are awkwardly trying to run down the narrow cobbled streets. He slaughters them both with only minimal effort and is swinging himself back around to see if somehow the female titan has left an opening when the sound of two flares, one after the other in rapid succession tears through the noise of battle.

Arlert stands with a smoking flare gun in his hand and another discarded at his feet, a cold look on his face as he watches the female titan reel back, hands pressed over her eyes. Already Ackerman and several of the new recruits from the boy’s class have taken the narrow window of opportunity – it won’t be long before her vision clears enough that she can go back to guarding the attacking titans, but for now they have a clear shot.

Levi, never one to turn down a chance like this, also dashes forward into the fray. It’s true that they won’t be able to get all of the titans like this, but if they can take out even one or two, they may be able to provide Jaeger with the support he needs.

Looking at him now, it is difficult to reconcile this titan with the image that has built up of him during his time as a captive with the Scouting Legion; then Jaeger had seemed mostly intelligent, and very cautious of himself around humans. It had reached the point of muttered jokes about their new pet – the guard dog turned gentle house-pet. Now, with no semblance of control left, Jaeger lashes out as though maddened by pain, his steaming wounds not closing fast enough as the titans surrounding him sink their teeth into his flesh. He howls; a sickening, chilling sound. Levi grits his teeth and ignores Jaeger as best he can, focused on the target before him that is, in turn, focused on ripping out chunks of Jaeger’s waist.

Everything around him is moving at speeds that his conscious mind can barely process, and so as always happens during battle, Levi’s body – his instincts, muscle memory and quick reactions – takes over for him. He doesn’t notice the female titan straighten up, one eye cleared while the other is still swollen shut, but a part of him must be aware of it, because he drags himself up to Jaeger’s shoulder as soon as he is done with his target, narrowly avoiding being squashed like a bug.

Jaeger barely flicks a glance in Levi’s direction, his weight upon the titan’s shoulder inconsequential. It looks like, including Levi, three soldiers managed to hit their mark, leaving only three titans still single-mindedly tearing at Jaeger.

The three metre class goes down quickly and quietly beneath Jaeger’s foot, leaving only a steaming husk on the cobbles, but the seven metre and ten metre classes are not so easily defeated. Levi has seen Jaeger rip through hordes of titans, has heard that he single-handedly took down twenty at the reclaiming of Trost, but Jaeger has never had to fight so many abnormals at once before. Nor has he ever been forced to fight tactically with soldiers that, unused to his fighting style, are as likely to get in the way and get themselves killed as they are to be of any use to him.

Levi watches through narrowed eyes as several more suicidal fools throw themselves at the female titan, only to be plucked out of the air. _Hanji must be having a field day_ he thinks drily.

Ever more titans arrive, crowding the narrow streets, and most of the Scouting Legion’s efforts are concentrated there, but Levi can see Arlert and a few of his classmates muttering furiously to one another, sneaking glances at the female titan. He sincerely hopes that they’re not going to try the flare trick again – it’s obvious even to him that it won’t work a second time. Yet, despite that, one of the recruits tears himself away from the group to leap thoughtlessly off the roof and towards the female titan, as though he can do anything that hasn’t already been tried by a seasoned soldier. _Suicidal fool_ Levi scowls to himself, trying to block the cries hurled uselessly after their comrade.

The female titan catches him in mid-air, as she had so many times before, and a mockery of a smile warps her face as she brings him to eye level, his hood falling back to reveal his face and everything is still.

His shout of pain as he hits the roof is almost drowned out by the roaring in Levi’s ears, because she _hadn’t killed him, she’d killed all of the others so why not him?_

So caught up in the one-sided battle is he, that Levi almost overbalances when Jaeger lurches forwards to grab the head of the ten-metre class, gripping it between both his hands – one of which is still steaming from its recent regrowth. Levi did not sign up for this, it’s like working with a damn lizard only worse, and he shoves down the stubborn nausea building in his stomach at the thought. The sickening crunch of bone doesn’t help matters when the titan’s skull gives way to the unyielding pressure of Jaeger’s hands – he wastes no time in clawing out the stump of its neck and tossing it to one side before setting about destroying the last titan that remains latched onto him.

Deciding that this is a battle best sat out, Levi leaps away to a nearby clock tower as Jaeger rips out the neck of seven metre titan, blood spattering everywhere, staining Jaeger’s face even as it evaporate away into nothing.

All this time, Levi realises as he glances back at the battle, the female titan has been watching Jaeger closely, as though looking for something in particular about him. Though occasionally distracted by soldiers trying to attack whilst her guard is down, she has been still and silent, neither engaging in the battle nor turning away from it. The fighting that had previously spread across half of the village has now all but stopped, as there are no more titans appearing to join the battle – Levi can’t help but wonder how many good soldiers they’ve lost this time, in the hope of such a paltry victory.

He is not given long to wonder as Jaeger’s howl shakes through him and both titans shift into what, in a human, could be called a fighting stance. All around, the Scouting Legion gathers, watches as the female titan clasps one hand over the back of her neck and holds the other just to the side of her face like she can block Jaeger’s strikes. They are both still; silent and watchful, with each waiting for the other to make the first move.

It is Jaeger that loses his patience first.

 *****

Jaeger has the upper hand in strength, in size and in sheer bloody-minded determination, and if there is one thing that years on the front lines has taught Levi, it’s that that is what will get Jaeger killed. The female titan watches him and reacts to his movements with unnerving clarity, one hand clamped firmly over the back of her neck. The problem, Levi realises quickly, is that Jaeger is still stuck in the mind-set of fighting her like she is an ordinary titan; what’s worse is that she seems to be perfectly aware of that.

She fights like a human. It’s been years since Levi’s had to fight anything other than titans and, on occasion, himself, but he can remember it perfectly – he remembers the rush, the thrill that came for fighting for your life against a creature that actually knows how to fight back. He watches the female titan carefully, and recognises what she is doing; she has neither the height nor strength advantage, and her fighting style reflects that. She doesn’t require either to knock Jaeger’s legs from beneath him, and it is only his impressive reflexes that allow him to roll out of her way and back to his feet.

No movement, not even the slightest twitch, is wasted. She has absolute control over herself, control of a sort that can only come from years of extended training and practical application; Levi can see much of his younger self in her then, and it’s almost enough to make him gag.

A few idiots – two from Mike’s Squad, and another three that Levi knows only by sight – hurry down, thinking to take out the female titan’s Achilles tendon while she is distracted by Jaeger, and Levi grits his teeth at their stupidity or remarkable courage; he isn’t quite sure which. Against his will, his hands curl into fists when she leaps out of their path, crushing two, kicking one across the rooftops and leaving the others to swing around and try again, only to repeat the process. Beyond that, she shows no interest in them – she seems to have as little desire to eat people as Jaeger, yet unlike him she clearly has no compunctions about killing for the sake of killing.

All the while, she never once takes her eyes off of Jaeger.

Jaeger screeches at her, jaws opening impossibly wide in a challenge, and Levi can feel the echo of his rising frustration layered above his utter fury. Jaeger won’t stop until one of them is dead, that much is clear, but at this stage Levi can’t say much for his chances.

The titans come together with a crash like thunder, Jaeger’s momentum pushing the female titan back a full step before she manages to duck away from him – Jaeger recovers his balance swiftly, but he has already lost whatever small advantage he had managed to gain, the female titan standing back to watch him through narrowed eyes. Jaeger’s hands are up also, protecting his face, though why he would protect his face and leave the nape of his neck vulnerable when he is so clearly aware that it is a weak spot is beyond Levi.

However, he does seem to be catching on to the fact that none of his usual attacks will work – he is accustomed to fighting titans with no true understanding of what it means to fight. The female titan is different, and for now at least, he has stopped his flat-out attacks. Simple brutality and sheer strength have done nothing for him in this battle; he pauses, and Levi finds himself holding his breath as he watches them size each other up.

The female titan pivots suddenly, one foot lashing up to catch Jaeger just beneath his ribs, in the soft area unprotected by his arms. Jaeger makes no move to avoid her attack, breath knocked out of him in a cloud of steam, and Levi can see the way his stomach caves beneath the force of the blow. The titan staggers into the side of a building, hands clenching in the brickwork. From the corner of his eye, Levi sees Ackerman try to throw herself forward, only to be held back by Arlert and another of the hundred and fourth – Arlert hisses something at her, his face twisted by fear and anger, and she subsides. The female titan steps forwards, towards the steaming mess, and reaches down to Jaeger, to the exposed nape of his neck.

He spins, smashing the handful of bricks and cement into the side of the female titan’s face, where she had left it exposed in her overconfidence. She staggers, caught off-guard, and Jaeger presses his advantage, using her own momentum against her as he sweeps her leg away from beneath her, mimicking the same takedown she had used on him earlier. Levi remembers Hanji saying something about Jaeger’s remarkable learning capabilities, even remembers the Squads assigned to the titan joking about it, but it had never truly registered before.

Now, with Jaeger straddling the female titan’s back, one hand gripping her wrists and the other keeping clenched over the back of her neck, it fully hits him just what they’ve unleashed, and he feels a surge of white-hot, fierce joy.

Jaeger freezes, one hand still held over the back of her neck.

Taking advantage of his distraction – _why, why now of all times?_ – the female titan throws Jaeger off, and though he gets quickly to his feet, he seems dazed, confused, and barely defends himself when she launches her next blistering attack. It’s as though all of his conviction has drained from him, and though he continues to defend himself, his attacks are sloppy, ill-timed and half the strength that Levi knows he is capable of. Something has changed, has shifted the battle, and the fact that Levi can’t even begin to guess what it is terrifies him more than he cares to admit.

A sudden blur of motion to his left alerts him to the movement of soldiers, and he has to clamp down on the urge to collapse when he recognises them as his own Squad. He doesn’t think, barely notices the hand that falls on his shoulder until he tries to go after them and finds that he can’t – he spins, fist already drawn back, but Erwin catches that too and pulls him back.

“Erwin, _what –_ ”

“We can’t afford to lose you too!” Erwin snaps, and it gives Levi just enough pause to realise that his voice is rough, his face twisted in a grimace, and Levi is suddenly reminded that there is only a few years’ difference between them. Somehow, Erwin always seems so much older than him, even if Levi feels as though he has seen so much more of what the world can take away from a person. And Levi understands. He hates it, hates it with every fibre of his being, calls for his team to fall back with a hoarse voice and dozens of sympathetic looks aimed his way, but he knows that it is too late already.

He can’t watch any more than he can look away.

The female titan smiles as she plucks them from the air, amused in a way she hadn’t been when fighting only Jaeger. As for Jaeger himself, he is terribly, awfully still until the first screams start ringing around him – he roars and throws himself forward, with none of his usual finesse, making him an easy target. Levi doesn’t know if his goal was to distract the female titan and give his Squad time to retreat, or if he was simply blinded by his hatred, but the female titan bats him away as carelessly as she would a fly, and though he is relentless in his charges, she never turns to him for more than a few seconds, and Levi can do _nothing_ but stand and _watch_ as his team is decimated.

He feels as though his legs are about to give way beneath him, and it is only the Commander’s hand on his shoulder that is keeping him both upright and from hurling himself out to share the same fate as his Squad.

Jaeger’s screech is deafening, and it seems that even the female titan isn’t prepared for the ferocity of his attacks; he uses every weapon, every advantage, every opening that is available to him, without pause or thought, clawing and ripping and tearing in so many places at once that the female titan doesn’t have a chance to anticipate his moves, to harden her skin and defend herself. His eyes have lost their focus, pupils blown wide until only the thinnest ring of green is left, and whatever consciousness they had previously contained is gone as though it never existed, replaced by anger and the burning desire to destroy what stands before him.

He wrestles her to the ground once again, but whatever hesitation had existed before is gone now, and though the female titan is spread on her back, the nape of her neck mostly protected, Jaeger still rips her apart piece by piece. His nails dig into the exposed muscle like claws and tear at her, jaws fastening on wherever he can reach, until the steam hissing from her obscures them both almost completely – the female titan’s pained and enraged shrieks are almost enough to drown out the wet sound of her flesh being pulled away from her bones. Then, she falls silent.

Jaeger’s cry is one of victory, and Levi follows Mikasa and Armin down into the steam, ignoring the way it burns his face and hands. There’s a flash of blond hair ahead, and he follows it blindly, only to be stopped as an enormous hand descends from the steam to pick him up. Some small part of him panics, somehow still expecting it to be the female titan, but Jaeger’s face draws close, green eyes watching him intently.

Armin and Mikasa stand on Jaeger’s shoulders, their hands buried in his hair. They watch him almost as intently. Levi stares up at the inhuman face, teeth bared in what could be a perpetual grin or a permanent snarl, even as the female titan’s blood evaporates off of them. He can see her remains littered around them.

One deep breath, then another. Levi’s hands shake, so he wraps them around the hilt of his blades, noting the way both Mikasa and Armin tense at the movement; Jaeger’s eyes flick to them, but he does nothing. Just waits.

“I told you,” Levi starts. “I warned you what would happen, what I would do if you got any of my Squad hurt.” There is no understanding in Jaeger’s eyes – he has no idea what it is that Levi is saying to him. What is there is a strange acceptance; the mindless rage of before has drained away, leaving a titan that seems perfectly docile and obedient. “I told you that I would kill you, that I wouldn’t be able to hold back. Remember that?”

Armin and Mikasa both have their blades drawn, and even if they have no chance of winning against him, even though Armin’s hands are unsteady, he knows that neither of them lack the conviction to try to end him should he think to attack Jaeger.

“You fucking _brat_ ,” he hisses. The look on Jaeger’s face is too much for him to cope with; he shuts his eyes and presses his mouth together, knows that his face is drawn into a scowl that would make lesser men shit themselves. Jaeger’s breath washes over him, almost hot enough to scald, and Levi is reminded of nights on duty, spent with his Squad curled in the haven of Jaeger’s resting form.

He lets Jaeger carry him back to where the Commander is waiting.


	14. Chapter 11 - Mikasa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A realisation and a trap. The time has come at last.

There is something wrong with Armin. Mikasa doesn’t know what it is, but she knows her friend well enough to know that he is severely troubled, and not simply by the events of the fight with the female titan. She has seen him after battles on several occasions, but he has never been like this before. Normally, when coming down from the high of a battle, he seems distressed and shaken – now he is cold, his face set and his eyes distant. They stand together in Jaeger’s shadow, watching as the Commander goes through each Squad in turn, counting the dead and injured; the Captain stands silently a little way off, the hand resting on Jaeger’s ankle possibly the only thing keeping him upright.

Mikasa knows what it is to lose the entirety of one’s family in one swift blow, and she suspects that this is something similar to him. She is not good at offering comfort, and she doubts that he would accept any from her, so she does nothing but watch and quietly understand.

Armin touches her hand, a mere brush of fingers that would go unnoticed by any casual observer; she tilts her head a fraction towards him, indicating that she is paying attention. After so many years together, she has learnt to read his moods, his expressions and his gestures just as easily as she hears his voice – when he is like this, she knows better than to draw unwanted attention.

“Do you remember,” he starts softly. “When we were children, in Shinganshina, and we thought that the old mill just inside the Wall was haunted?”

Mikasa cuts a sharp look in his direction but doesn’t interrupt, doesn’t bother to question him. Armin wouldn’t have said anything unless it was important. He meets her gaze for a half-second, his eyes cold and dark, before he looks away and allows his expression to soften, his voice gently nostalgic.

“We stayed away for as long as we could, until one of the boys from the village stole my books and left them in there.” He isn’t looking at her, eyes skipping over the soldiers milling around. “And I told you that it was fine, that it wasn’t worth it, and you dragged me in there anyway, because you knew how much they meant to me,” he laughs quietly, and Mikasa nods once, still not seeing where he’s going with this.

“Except it wasn’t haunted at all,” Armin says slowly, carefully, rolling the words around his mouth before he speaks. “There weren’t any ghosts there. Just kids, pretending to be ghosts.”

His hand twitches against hers, and she curls her fingers around his, steadying him. Armin was never one for violence, was never suited for an active battleground; he had joined the military through loyalty to her, and the knowledge that he had nowhere else to go. Even then, she thinks that he would’ve been better off in the Stationary Guard. His mind is a far more lethal weapon than his blades, at any rate. And yet, she can’t help but be glad that he is still here, still with her. She doesn’t know what she would’ve done without him, over the years, and she thinks that she doesn’t want to know. Sometimes she scares herself, when she thinks about how far she’d be willing to go, the things she’d be willing to do.

“Just kids,” he mutters, his hand tightening around hers, eyes sliding back towards the remains of their trainee group. Mikasa’s breath feels frozen in her throat, but she nods quietly.

“I remember,” she says.

“Do you remember how we got them away from the mill?” he asks.

“Yes.”

Armin sighs, a bitter and heavy sound. His mouth twists into something like a scowl or a grimace or a strange combination of the two.

“Wasn’t that fun?” He asks, faux cheerfully, tears clinging at the corners of his eyes and never falling.

“No.”

A slight smile curls his mouth as he spots the Commander heading their way – they exchange a look and a nod. The Commander turns slightly and heads towards Captain Levi instead, though Mikasa knows that that is not the end of it; soon enough, Armin will have to report whatever it is that he has figured out. The Captain and the Commander speak in low voices, though it is easy to see the Captain’s growing frustration.

Yet the ‘explosion’ Mikasa had been waiting for never happens; instead, he almost seems to deflate, his anger running out of him so suddenly that she can’t help but tense in response – such a reaction isn’t the norm for him.

Commander Smith gestures at Armin and herself, and they walk over slowly, keeping a wary eye on the Captain, though he seems to have a good hold on his temper for the time being. Nobody speaks for a while, everyone too caught up in their own thoughts. Jaeger is a solid, silent presence behind them; he towers above the squat houses and barns that make up the outskirts of the village, head turning this way and that as though he is keeping a lookout for any more titans. It is comforting to know that he will be aware of the presence of any titans long before the rest of the Legion.

Armin glances around and, satisfied that there is no-one close enough to hear them, turns back to the Commander.

“We don’t have long,” he says softly. “And if we return Jaeger to HQ, more attempts on his life will be made – sir, we need to get him to Shinganshina as quickly as possible.” The Commander looks Armin over, doesn’t ask how he knows or what makes him so sure. He just nods tersely.

“Tell me what you know,” he says. “Leave nothing out.”

“The female titan wasn’t just a titan, or even an intelligent one like Jaeger,” Armin mutters furiously – Mikasa is aware that he’s got the rapt attention of both the Commander and the Captain, and so takes it upon herself to act as the lookout of sorts, to make sure that no-one is even attempting to listen in on their conversation. With any luck, any potential eavesdroppers will be put off by the steadily-growing ball of anger that she has been suppressing since the battle with the female titan began.

“I don’t know how, and I don’t know why, but she was a human in a titan’s body,” he confides hurriedly, and the three of them nod once – despite the utterly life-changing nature of this information, it is a conclusion that they had all reached. “But sir, it’s more than that; I recognised her, and this, whatever it is, must go a lot deeper than I’d originally thought.”

Everyone is still.

Mikasa’s mind is racing, wondering what Armin could possibly have meant – how could he have recognised the female titan, when this is the first recorded appearance of a female type in known history?

“Explain.” Captain Levi’s voice is harsh, curt, his eyes dull as he stares at Armin. Mikasa knows that he is more dangerous now, with his flat voice and blank expression than he could ever be when furious in the middle of a battlefield. She hopes that Armin will choose his words carefully, and then feels foolish for assuming that he otherwise wouldn’t

“I recognised her fighting style, a couple of the moves in particular,” he says softly. “I’ve never seen them used by anyone else, sir, and when she refused to kill Jean…”

“She was in our trainee group,” Mikasa hisses from between clenched teeth, the pieces beginning to slot together – and how could they not? It was such a distinctive style of fighting that she was ashamed she hadn’t noticed the similarities before. But then, why would she? It was hardly the first thought that came to mind when battling the female titan. The Commander and the Captain glance around at the soldiers nearest to them, but Armin shakes his head a little when he realises what they’re doing.

“She didn’t join the Scouting Legion,” he says. “So she’s probably gone already. Her absence would be noticed if she were to stay out here too long, so she’ll wait for another chance. We need to get Jaeger to Shinganshina before she gets it.”

The Commander’s eyes flash, and the corner of his mouth twitches, just barely; Mikasa realises that he has lost people too, in this fight, people that were important to him.

“And I suppose you have a plan?” He asks. Armin smiles grimly.

“You won’t like it, sir,” he says.

 *****

The plan is a mostly simple one, relying on a very few trusted members of the Legion, but it still leaves a sick, clenching feeling in Mikasa’s gut. She rides alongside Jaeger as they enter the giant forest, the entire Legion silent and watchful. Jaeger is calm again, but his gaze flicks around constantly, never resting on any one spot for more than a few seconds – he is nervous, Mikasa realizes, wary. He’s trying to keep a watch out for the female titan, or any other abnormals, despite the dense forest.

A message has been sent on ahead, travelling at top speed – unencumbered by the supply carts, they can make the journey back to Wall Rose in half the time that could be managed by the Scouting Legion as a whole.

The messenger Squad is made up of a team of four, spanning several Squads, and the only insistence Armin made was that it contained either Berthold or Reiner, but certainly not both. At first, it hadn’t truly registered with Mikasa why that would be necessary, but when the pieces came together, she felt as though all of the breath had been knocked from her body. All through their training, those three had been a tight-knit group, near impenetrable. She doesn’t like to think of the implications, but if there is even a chance that Armin is right, that his suspicions are sound, then she can see why splitting them up would be a good strategic move.

It had been ridiculously simple. Having chosen three trusted members from various Squads, Commander Smith had approached the exhausted, trembling new recruits, and asked for any volunteers to return as part of the messengers; naturally, everyone had volunteered immediately, desperate to hurry back to the safety of the Walls after the female titan’s attack.

Well, almost everyone. Despite herself, Mikasa can’t help but assume ulterior motives pushed Berthold and Reiner to volunteer.

Erwin chose Reiner to return, as the second-ranking trainee from the hundred and fourth could well be a valuable asset to such a small group travelling at high speeds; a perfectly innocent and legitimate reason to select him. Mikasa can only hope that neither of them saw through the flimsy excuse.

The messengers were given a signed and sealed document from the Commander explaining what had happened and expressing his regret that the expedition was to be cut short. The Legion would return to the Karanese district as quickly as possible, following the same route they had left by.

This, of course, is completely false.

Armin had explained to her as they sat on Jaeger’s thigh that evening, staring at him as he stared at the sky, that if there was even the slightest chance of Annie deciding to leave Wall Rose once again as the female titan, they couldn’t run the risk of encountering her. Not with so many already lost in the initial fight. At least this way, there was a good chance that they would be able to bypass her entirely, and so avoid another outright confrontation.

So now they move silently through the giant forest, having looped around and taken the longer route to the Karanese district. The Captain rides on just ahead of Jaeger, and they are a little way behind the main body of the Legion, precisely as Armin had suggested. The closest Squads to them are Hanji’s, what remains of Mike’s and a slightly newer Squad led by a woman that Mikasa had never bothered to learn the name of. A part of her regrets that now that she is forced to put not only her life, but also the lives of Armin and Jaeger, in her hands.

There is no time for that now, though. Jaeger’s head swings around to the left, and he turns between one step and the next, weaving away from the Scouting Legion and into the forest.

This isn’t what they’d hoped for, but the Commander had thought ahead, and they’d planned for this possibility. It’s not ideal, but they can work with it. The three Squads give chase, with Gerger riding on to inform the Commander of what has happened; Mikasa, Armin and the Captain follow Jaeger as closely as they can, taking to the air when the sounds of a fight reach them. Jaeger’s furious bellows ring through the trees, his lingering madness brought about during the battle with the female titan emerging full-force.

By the time they reach him, Jaeger has amassed a pile of three steaming carcasses, and is working on the fourth. The titans are all relatively small, and none of them abnormal, but that doesn’t matter. No-one else need know that detail, and there won’t be any evidence.

Jaeger’s screech when one of the larger of the remaining titans rips a chunk out of his thigh is good, Mikasa thinks, despite her nausea at the sound. It will lend weight to their story, make it seem more believable. The details are important with something like this, when so much of what they will attempt to convince the Scouting Legion of is near-impossible. The column of steam hissing its way up and out through the foliage is also good; there’s enough steam there that it could easily belong to a fifteen metre class.

Dispatching of the few remaining titans is child’s play compared to the day before, and everyone pauses to catch their breath. Jaeger stands, chest heaving, in the midst of the titan corpses, his nostrils flared and eyes almost glowing as he takes in what can only be described as the massacre that surrounds him. Mikasa has never seen a titan look truly satisfied before, but somehow, even with his alien features, she can see it on Jaeger’s face.

Off to one side, the Captain speaks in hushed tones to Hanji, no doubt going over the plan and the cover story once more, though why he thinks that she would need it, Mikasa can’t imagine. The only issue that Hanji had had with the plan was that she was being left behind.

If Armin’d had his way, it would be just the three of them, but the Captain had insisted on joining them. His reasoning had been flawless, of course; that they would need a commanding officer in case of an emergency, that he was the best suited – physically and mentally – for dealing with Jaeger should they lose control of him, that they need someone who knows the land, and the route that they have to take. She’d heard what he wasn’t saying as well.

That without his Squad, this is what is best for him. Being sent out to the front lines, ensuring that the deaths of his teammates weren’t in vain, that without his Squad, there is little use for him in the formation.

She said nothing at the time. It wouldn’t have been right of her, and besides, she thinks that she can almost understand – after the death of Carla, and the disappearance of Dr. Jaeger, she’d needed a purpose too. Hers had been to protect Armin, to avenge the death of her caretaker, to find Jaeger once again. She isn’t sure as to what the Captain’s may be, and it isn’t her place to ask. Such things are deeply personal, she knows, and however he may act, the Captain has been deeply affected by the course of the past few days.

Armin, on the other hand, had protested quite vehemently; the odds of the Captain, ‘humanity’s greatest soldier’, dying in such an insignificant battle are incredibly low, he had argued. No-one would believe that. The Captain had turned to stare at him with dark eyes, and said simply:

“Anyone can die in any battle, no matter how strong they are, or how weak the opponent. You would do well to remember that.”

And so that had been that, and it is being left to Hanji to provide the details of their supposed deaths, should details be required. They are given all of the supplies that could be sneaked into the saddlebags of the Squads to take with them, and they are assured that there is an old outpost that is still used for storing emergency reserves of gas, blades and food on their way.

Armin moves first, the hooks of his 3DMG sinking deep into the muscle of Jaeger’s shoulder – the green eyes narrow, before they focus on Armin, and Jaeger is careful to remain perfectly motionless until Armin is safely settled upon his shoulder. Mikasa follows him up, weaving her hand into Jaeger’s mass of hair.

She takes comfort in the feel of the key that remains knotted there, small and solid beneath her fingers.

The Captain joins them shortly, crouched on Jaeger’s other shoulder. They have elected to leave the horses behind and travel exclusively under Jaeger’s power. It’s an enormous gamble, relying on the fact that Jaeger will neither abandon them, nor be too injured to carry them away from danger; nonetheless, it is one that they feel necessary. Having their horses disappear when they have supposedly dies would be sure to arouse suspicion.

From the ground, the Squads nod and salute them – they return the nod but not the salute.

Armin kneels down and places his palms flat against the feverish skin of Jaeger’s shoulder, bows his head until his hair just brushes the skin. He murmurs to Jaeger, gives him instructions and directions; Mikasa doesn’t know how much of it the titan is capable of understanding, but when he turns and begins to move in the right direction, she decides that it doesn’t matter.

She is going home.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [On The Shoulder Of A Giant [PODFIC]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2791343) by [Opalsong](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opalsong/pseuds/Opalsong)




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